Tracking cats in Argentina: Hanover teacher returns from unique expedition

While others have been going on vacation or relaxing at the beach, Hanover Middle School Teacher Amy Dolan was studying endangered wild cats in the wilderness of Argentina.

The10-day study, on which Dolan participated as part of a research team, brought her to South America for the first time.

“I think it was so amazing because of the people,” Dolan said. “Everyone got along so well.”

She participated on the trip through the Earthwatch Institute’s Educator’s Fellowship Program, which allows teachers to travel all around the world to help study everything from endangered species to global warming.

Experts in the field lead expeditions and volunteers, like Dolan, can choose which expedition is a good fit for them.

Dolan, a seventh-grade science teacher, found out in May that she was going and her students and colleagues jumped on board to support her.

A hat day fundraiser was held at the school in June during which students paid $1 to wear a hat for the day to help pay for some of Dolan’s travel expenses. They also made posters for her. “They were excited,” she said. Students and fellow teachers raised about $400, and the rest of the money for the trip came from a grant, the Sheehan Family Foundation.

Dolan, a fourth-year teacher, said she can’t wait to put some of her new knowledge to use in the classroom as she teaches her students about life sciences this year. “We always talk about what scientists do,” she said. “It will be great to show them the pictures and say ‘this is what scientists do’.”

Dolan spent the weeks before the July expedition preparing for the trip by reading up on the research, the cats and the issues they are facing. The trip required her to get four shots and to dig out her winter wardrobe since summer in the United States is winter in Argentina — and this year’s been a particularly cold one.

“When I was flying down, Buenos Aires had their first snowfall since 1918,” she said. She had to prepare to work nights in the fields looking for these rare and beautiful creatures, some of which she had never heard of. The biggest challenge she faced, though, was the language barrier, as she didn’t speak a word of Spanish and some of researchers spoke very limited English. “It was a lot of laughing and trying to communicate,” she said of the experience.

    Dolan said she learned about the Earthwatch program through friends who had participated in the past, and had a great time. She did some research and became interested, so she wrote the required essays and filled out an application. Dolan was assigned to an educator’s fellowship and welcomed as an Earthwatch volunteer.

    The expedition she went on — Argentina’s Mysterious Cats — is one of many available to Earthwatch volunteers. And she couldn’t be more excited to have been a part of something that makes such a difference.

    Dolan was one of six volunteers from all over the world that went on the July expedition. The group stayed in bunk beds in cabins on the nearby Los Alamos Farm, about an hour’s drive from Bahia Blanca. The farm is the central location of the cat research project, led by Dr. Claudia Manfredi.

    “The greatest number of species of cats are found there, but very little is known about them and their habitats are slowly being taken away by farmers,” Dolan said.

    According to Dolan, the purpose of the study is to research how these cats live and interact with each other and other species. Researchers and volunteers are tracking the cats by collar to learn their behavior. They are also capturing cats to draw DNA samples before releasing them back into the wild. This expedition was a very exciting one for volunteers and researchers since they captured a Geoffrey’s Cat, which does not happen often.

    “It was the middle of the night there when we caught it and it was raining,” she said. Volunteers in pairs took turns roaming the lonely grasslands checking to see if any cats had been caught. If one is caught, researchers act fast to make sure the animal is in captivity for as short an amount of time as possible. DNA samples are taken from the cat and data is recorded, a job Dolan signed up for.

    It was about 2:30 a.m. when they caught the cat, later named Chiquita. Some of the researchers went to sedate it and volunteers joined them to help collect data. “You’re working very quickly because they give a low dose,” she said. They measured its length, looked at its teeth, took hair samples and checked its heart rate and temperature. But most important was making sure the animal was OK. Dolan said the cat’s ears and legs twitched a few times before it woke up. “They think she was a full-grown adult,” she said.

    If the cat is old enough, a radio tag collar is placed on it so scientists can track it.

    Dolan said Geoffrey’s Cats and Pampas Cats are slightly larger than a house cat. The Pampas cat is particularly elusive. “They don’t know how long their gestation periods is and they don’t know how many babies they have,” Dolan said. Researchers also do not know what some of the species eat.

    This research is being conducted because these cat species are considered to be threatened. Pampas Cats and Geoffrey’s Cats, once hunted for their coats, are facing habitat destruction. The Pampas Cat is still hunted today and is also killed by farmers who believe that it eats their animals, according to the group’s expedition briefing.

    Dolan said farmers are still prejudiced against the cats.

    Another part of the journey was tracking collared cats with telemetry, which Dolan learned how to do on-site. They also were able to see a collared cat they tracked down.

    “The most exciting thing was definitely the two times we saw the cats,” she said.

    Dolan said it’s important for people to be aware that these types of projects are going on. And she would definitely recommend an Earthwatch expedition to anyone who is interested in helping.

    Mary Rowe, an expedition coordinator for Earthwatch out of its Massachusetts’s office, said the cats expedition is just one of many the organization has to offer and you don’t have to be a teacher to be a volunteer.

    Through Earthwatch, thousands of people have helped with similar projects on six continents (Antarctica is not included). A volunteer is required to prove he or she is in good enough health to participate and must have had a checkup within the past year.

    Different expeditions cost different amounts. The Amazon Riverboat Expedition, one of the most popular ones Rowe said, costs about $4,000 a person, but most are not as expensive. A volunteer usually pays his or her own way. The money is put toward the programs and recruitment, Rowe said. A volunteer must also pay his or her own travel expenses. If they are a teacher or student, grants are available. Rowe said Earthwatch does the grant writing.

    A volunteer would look through a catalog of several different expeditions. “The volunteers pick which one they like, which one is closest to their heart,” Rowe said.

    Most expeditions last one to two weeks and training is provided on site after they arrive. Earthwatch has 3,500 to 4,000 volunteers worldwide, Rowe said. Most people, she said, hear about the program through friends that have gone and they get many repeat volunteers.

    Argentina’s Mysterious Cats, Rowe said, is a good fit for a person that likes the great outdoors. Other popular expeditions are ones at which volunteers study desert elephants, crocodiles in Zambia, turtles in the Caribbean and a Mammoth Graveyard in the United States.

    To find out more about Earthwatch and its many programs, visit www.earthwatch.org