Telemetry: The Sound of Science in Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park - National Park Service•www.nps.gov

"Telemetry" refers to the wireless transmission of information, often via radio waves, from one location to another. Our public radio-style audio series helps transmit some of Yellowstone's scientific investigations to listeners, wherever they are. Telemetry is supported by Yellowstone Forever and by a generous grant through the Eyes on Yellowstone program, made possible by Canon U.S.A., Inc. Thanks also to the Acoustic Atlas at the Montana State University Library.

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Episodes

Episode 10: Home on the Range

Bison have lived on the Yellowstone landscape for millennia, but the history of bison conservation has been fraught with challenges. In 2019, federal, state, and tribal partners came together to make history: charting a new path for this American icon and assuring a place for wild bison on the broader landscape.

Apr 22, 2020•32 min

Episode 9: Pivot Point

One family's dramatic encounter with a grizzly bear. Listener discretion is advised.

Apr 03, 2019•15 min

Episode 8: Tigers of Yellowstone

Did you know there are tigers in Yellowstone? It just takes a keen eye to observe them. These creatures--and countless others like them--live in a world that's not always obvious, but the role they play in Yellowstone is huge.

Feb 05, 2019•16 min

Episode 7: Vital Signs

"Vital signs," like blood pressure and pulse rate, are used in medicine to track human health. Paying attention to the little things can often help us better understand what's going on in the big picture. Scientists can monitor ecological "vital signs," too. In this episode, biologist Andrew Ray shows us that a little creature can tell us a lot about the Yellowstone ecosystem.

Oct 22, 2018•14 min

Episode 6: What Lies Below

People travel from all over the world to see Yellowstone's famous geysers, colorful hot springs, burbling mud pots, and hissing fumaroles. The force that drives these amazing thermal features—a giant volcano—lies below much of the park. In this episode, we talk with scientists who monitor the volcano about misconceptions surrounding Yellowstone's volcanic past, present, and future.

Jan 30, 2018•14 min

Episode 5: The Value of One Wolf

Wolf researcher Kira Cassidy likes to say that when Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in 1894 and included the famous line “For the strength of the Wolf is the Pack and the strength of the Pack is the Wolf,” he would have had no idea that over a century later, scientific research would back up his poetic phrase. In this episode, Kira takes us inside the world of the wolf and pulls back the curtain on what it means to be the leader of the pack.

Aug 11, 2017•5 min

Episode 4: Reburn: The Maple Fire Story

On August 8, 2016, a lightning strike ignited a small fire on the edge of Yellowstone National Park near the community of West Yellowstone. Most fires in the park never burn more than about a quarter-acre, but the Maple Fire would go on to burn over 45,000. It was the largest fire in the park since the historic fires of 1988.

Jun 07, 2017•14 min

Episode 3: Cougar M198

Last January, one of Yellowstone's marked mountain lions went missing. Scientists traveled deep into the park to investigate. And that journey? It wasn't as straightforward as they thought it would be.

Mar 17, 2017•18 min

Episode 2: One Fish, Two Fish: Saving the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

Back in 1870, a member of the Washburn Expedition wrote in his diary about the Yellowstone cutthroat trout: "Two men could catch them faster than half a dozen could clean and get them ready for the frying pan.” Since then, things have become a lot more complicated.

Feb 10, 2017•11 min

Episode 1: To Catch a Loon

What do scientists do when they're racing to understand what's happening to one of the smallest and most isolated common loon populations in North America? Whatever it takes. Get ready because this story might change the way you think about birders forever.

Feb 08, 2016•13 min

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