Persuading an elk to stand where you want it to is no easy task -- especially when you're trying to stick something in its ear, down its throat or under its skin on a snowy day during rutting season.

That was the challenge facing a Fort Collins-based team of researchers and ranch owners Monday as they tagged 46 elk with experimental radio-frequency monitors they hope will lead to a breakthrough in tracking livestock and infectious diseases.

"It's essentially a Social Security number for animals," said John Heller, an identification project specialist with Research Management Systems, which is working with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to develop and study the high-tech tagging system.

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Source: Coloradoan Online, Courtney Lingle
November 23, 2004

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