Bobcat Stories

For years, Bosque School students and staffulty have had the pleasure of sharing the Bosque School campus and the surrounding bosque with our porcupine friends, and as many of you know, Bosque School students have been researching the porcupine population near our campus for more than two decades. Since 2003, Bosque School students, with the support of staffulty and volunteer veterinarians, have caught 51 porcupines and have placed 47 radio collars. 

The process of capturing and sedating these porcupines was pioneered by Bosque School alums Katie Elder, MS ‘08, and Dr. Anna Perez-Umphrey ‘09. Their research focused specifically on the live-capture technique and the effectiveness of the sedative medetomidine hydrochloride (Domitor Ⓡ) and the antagonist atipamezole hydrochloride (Antisedan Ⓡ) in facilitating handling. Both Katie and Anna are now co-authors on a manuscript with current Bosque School student Katie Rielage '26, related to this capture and sedation method.

In the video, recent alum Isabel Robertson '25 talks about her research, which spanned several years here at Bosque School and continues today. We checked in with Isabel for an update on how her work at Bosque School has influenced her work in college. 

“Currently, I am a freshman at UNM studying biology, and continuing 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. Our preliminary results show that the male (captured last year) has a larger winter home range than the females (monitored during that same time), and one individual, ‘Stacy,’ frequently uses the burn area, suggesting it’s becoming an important habitat. Not only do these survivors of urban encroachment and wildfire act as a means of understanding and protecting their species, but they also bring communities of young people together.

“This project has enabled a level of personal growth that I never thought possible. Among the many ways I have grown during the study, managing field efforts to capture and radio-collar porcupines has developed my sense of calm and leadership. Porcupines are incredible creatures that have provided so much for me, the community, and the bosque as a whole.”

Isabel and Katie Rielage recently presented their research at the Outdoor Learning Summit. When asked about it, Katie said, “I greatly enjoyed presenting to educators from across the state and discussing how they can implement wildlife biology fieldwork and other hands-on science in their curriculum. It has been helpful to get advice from the alumni who have also worked on this research as I write the manuscript.

Katie Elder and Anna have continued to work with wildlife populations throughout their careers. Katie is the Wildlife Conservation Manager for the Catalina Island Conservancy (California), and one of her many duties is researching and managing the endangered Catalina Island fox. Anna focuses her research on understanding how ecological, demographic, and genetic factors interact to influence disease susceptibility and prevalence in wildlife populations. She continues her research at Virginia Tech in disease ecology, studying the house finch.

Click here to watch the video and learn more about this ongoing porcupine study.