AE presents at second annual ETC in Missoula, MT

The second annual ETC will be held at Montana University August 2-5 2011. The main focus of this conference is technology and education so it makes perfect sense that AE would be invited to speak. We are exited about participating again this year and look forward to seeing you there!

Here is an excerpt from the website describing our presentation:

Lynx to Loons: Learning made Fun

Presented by Ryan Alter and Tracy Holland, Alter Enterprise. Bringing in outside experts can be an excellent way to increase student engagement in your classroom. In this presentation, we will bring in biological experts and show you how to integrate real time, interactive, videoconferencing into your curriculum. Attend this program for a fun and exciting adventure into the wild.

AE Presents at ISTE 2011

How to Use Interactive Videoconferencing to Teach Wildlife Lessons

Alter Enterprise uses videoconferencing technology to bring presentations from Montana Field Experts into the classroom. Our programs are unique in that the presentation is given from the location that the biologists actually do their research. We show real studies that are currently being conducted using innovative technology that we design for researchers. Alter Enterprise is a technology and wildlife monitoring company with a strong passion for educational outreach. Our programs range from 1st grade through high school and the presentations can be geared toward different objectives for your class.

Monday, 6/27/2011, 2:00pm–2:30pm
Sign up at
http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60661619

Automated Bear Trap in the News

It has been awhile since I have posted. Yesterday our automated bear trap was in the local news here in Missoula Montana. I have attached the link to the news story. Unfortunately the bear caught in the trap was a problem bear and had to be put down. This is why we always talk about being responsible with your garbage, bird feeders and other attractants. It is so important to respect wildlife so things like this do not have to happen.

We would very much like to thank Montana FWP for giving us the opportunity to work with them. It has been their advice and support that has made the automated bear trap a success.

Stay tuned for more updates....

Bears and Cougars!

Hi All! Lots of action this weekend out here in Montana! While we were at the Griz game on Saturday, the real Griz were making an appearance out in the woods. This week were are off to LA for the 2010 Solar conference. Gotta keep on top of all of the new technology. Have a great week!

AMAZING WILDLIFE PICS!!

We have captured some amazing wildlife pictures in the last two weeks…two black bears hanging out together, a fawn feeding and a couple of grey wolves. Our buddy Giles came across a fresh mountain lion kill last week but before we could get a camera on it the bears got into the leftovers. The weather is certainly starting to change here in Montana and the animals are getting ready for winter.

 

 

 

Bear Cub Returns to Den

Last winter we are able to help out bear mangers by placing a black bear cub in a web enabled den to hibernate for the winter. The cub spent approximately 4 months in the den (winter 2009-2010). We recorded his movements and habits learning quite a bit about bear hibernation. For example in an average of 30 days the bear was visibly awake for 28 of them. He spent time fluffing his bed, scratching, yawning and checking his surroundings. You can watch videos posted here on our blog or at www.condonwildlifecams.com. The black bear cub left the den in the spring of 2010. Just last month (Septermber2010) we saw the cub on the den camera checking out his home from last winter (photo attached). It is possible that he may den here again thru the winter of 2010. We are keeping a close eye on the cameras to see if he returns!

Bird Box Surprise

Ryan and the Crew were in the woods last week and stumbled across something other than a bird in a bird box!
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/5c382c548ea22a41a0653c6f100f2150/video/18549183

They were out for a week getting the gear ready fro winter...although it is 80 degrees today in MT we know winter will be here soon. We caught a few sightings of bears on camera 4 www.condonwildlifecams.com.
And of course lots of deer.

Plans this week include designing a Hippo camera for the Humane Society.

Stayed tuned for more pics!

Alter Enterprise Video Conference

Hi All! If you have time today Ryan and his team are hosting a video conference at 330MST. They are broadcasting live from a bear den in the middle of the Montana woods. The topic is technology and education. Here is the link: http://rss.vision.net/module.php?mod=mod_live&task=live_play&port=1800   Have a great day!

Bird Box Surprise

Today was a great day in the field!
Rain Gear - Check
Protein Snacks - Check
Clean Bird boxes - Check
We went through quite a few bird boxes today, cleaning and sanitizing them so they will be ready next spring. We remove the old nesting materials, clean the box with a low bleach solution and then repack it with clean nesting materials. We had about five different varieties of birds nesting in them this summer. Oh, and something other than a bird, click the link above to see our special visitor!

Who knows what is going to turn up tomorrow...

Backyard Experiment

We set up a camera in the backyard last week to test some equipment… a remote solar powered cell base and one camera. We had no idea what we would capture on camera!   Lots of white tail deer (this is Montana ), a red fox, a couple of neighborhood cats and my wife legs (I'd know those legs anywhere). We also caught pics of our neighbor's dog, Crazy, who escapes his yard on an hourly basis.   We left the camera up for a week and now the equipment is off to the Bison Range http://www.fws.gov/bisonrange/nbr/  in Montana where they will be setting up a cell base and four cameras. We can't wait to see what kind of pictures they capture!