Specimen Collection 1

 

Back in December 2015, we collected specimens from 108 coyotes - from eight counties - that were brought in on a sport hunting event. We're not proponents of killing animals just for the sake of it, but at least we were able to collect specimens that will yield scientific data. We should have the opportunity to repeat this collection in December of 2016 also.

Because the event organizers asked us not to damage the pelts, we decided to collect tongues as a source of blood, clips of ear tissue as skin samples, and any ectoparasites we found.

This specimen collection event yielded 108 tongues, 85 ear clips, 9 EDTA tubes of whole blood (opportunistically from wounds), and fleas from 3 coyotes. Unfortunately, no ticks were found, probably due to the cold weather. Yes, Arizona gets cold weather in the winters!