Troy Davis

A Dirt-Based Community

My Track and Sign Evaluation in Montana I’ve been interested in wildlife tracking for many years. Early in my biology career, long before widespread online learning, my only tutelage came from hunting lore, cheap reproductions of 1970s-era military manuals, and tales of mountain men and native Americans. In the beginning, I found the idea ofContinue reading “A Dirt-Based Community”

Running in Slow Motion

“Yeah!” I shouted as I crested the hill. “Oh, yeah! That’s how it’s done!” A dozen pairs of liquid brown eyes watched me as I reached the top of our rural Pennsylvania driveway. The neighbor ladies were unaccustomed to such outbursts because I usually ran in silence. They observed me for a moment from behindContinue reading “Running in Slow Motion”

Rattlers: A Different Perspective

This obsession with casting the rattler as an aggressive beast is even less appropriate on closer examination. What is a rattle’s purpose if not to warn?

Timber Wars

Listening to Oregon Public Broadcasting‘s 2020 podcast Timber Wars was, for me, like traveling in time. Although I was an insignificant cog in the grand wheel of the controversy, I was witness to some of the drama. It was a brief, important experience that has resonated through my life. As a young outsider, I wasContinue reading “Timber Wars”

The Story of a Queen

Most of my life has revolved around animals. That covers my years with wild animals as a wildlife biologist but also includes work at several domestic animal shelters. This is a story about a queen who lived at one such shelter.

Relocating Commotion-Causing Beavers

This piece was written in August of 2018 for the Utah Division of Wildlife, where I worked as a biological technician and staff wildlife biologist. Many Utahns have experience with beavers. Unfortunately, much of that experience is less than desirable: beavers plugging up culverts, chewing down trees and flooding parking lots. The reality is thatContinue reading “Relocating Commotion-Causing Beavers”