Swans are migrating in Idaho this winter, and they are one of the many animal species included in the Endangered Species Act. One society at BYU-Idaho is conducting research to help keep the swan population healthy and thriving.
Mikayla Khilobok is the president of the Fisheries, Range and Wildlife Society at BYU-Idaho. She explains how they conduct their research.
"We just find the ratio between the adults and young to see how the population is growing and if it's steady," Khilobok said. "We also keep an eye out for any predation on them."
Predation is when predators hunt their prey.
Research hasn't been done by BYU-Idaho on swans since 2021, so Khilobok decided to bring it back.
"I was just wanting to do some research this winter trying to figure out what animals were around to research, so I kind of kick-started it," Khilobok said.
The Wildlife Society has five teams, each composed of 7-8 students. The society is largely student-run as well. The Wildlife Society conducts research locally, from the Heise community all the way to the Saint Anthony sand dunes.
There are a few primary goals of their swan research.
"One, we're trying to give more research opportunities to the people in our major and even other majors that need research for their resumes," Khilobok said. "The main goal is to make sure we're monitoring these endangered species and making sure that these populations are healthy."
Khilobok says she loves research, especially research about birds. She’s also doing some research about hawk rescue.
“I just love studying the birds in the area because we have such interesting birds and the migratory patterns through here are so cool," Khilobok said.