Bobcat Stories

Isabel Robertson, a Bosque School class of 2025 alum and UNM biology student, continues to work with Bosque School on porcupine research and community outreach. “I have dedicated my studies to answering questions about how porcupines use spaces within our beautiful riverside forest, the bosque. These animals are special—they have survived a catastrophic wildfire that burned crucial habitat and continue to reside in our study area despite a significant population decline. They are survivors, they are resilient, and now they contribute to data that will aim to protect their species as a whole.”

Isabel is back on campus regularly and often helps visiting 4th graders learn about porcupines, beavers, and the bosque. Recently, along with a volunteer veterinarian, Bosque School students, Dan Shaw, and other staffulty members, Isabel helped with a porcupine trapping. Mr. Shaw and Isabel had anticipated that they would be able to radio-collar the porcupine, which would have been Bosque School's 48th radio-collared porcupine. Although circumstances didn't allow for radio-collaring that day, they were able to insert a microchip and collect vital signs and other important data from the porcupine.

A few days later, they successfully executed a double porcupine capture from the same tree—Stacy, the porcupine that we collared 2 years ago, as well as another porcupine suspected to be her mate. The team replaced Stacy's dead collar so that she can continue to be tracked and researched. This was the first double capture in Bosque School's history of working with porcupines.