The cool science behind solving wildlife mysteries
BY KRISTIN BAIRD RATTINI
A
stray bullet. A single fingerprint. A drop of
blood. Like detectives, scientists examine
the evidence left behind at crime scenes
to help solve mysteries. But the scientists
working at the National Fish and Wildlife Service’s
(FWS) Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, are
different: They use cutting-edge technology to help
solve crimes against animals. “We’re like supersleuths
for wildlife,” deputy director Ed Espinoza says. The
cases they investigate help catch the crooks who
kill animals—and make others think twice before
harming more.
STICKY FINGERS
To passersby, the man was enjoying a campout. But he was
really illegally sneaking into reserved hunting grounds and
using a gun instead of the permitted bow and arrow to kill elk
for their prized antlers.
The hunter couldn’t move the large antler racks home during
hunting season; there were too many game wardens checking to
make sure hunters killed their game legally. Instead, he wrapped
the racks in duct tape and hid them in tree branches. He’d
return for them after hunting season.
But the suspect left something else behind. After wardens
found one of the racks, FWS lab technicians discovered a finger-
print on the duct tape. No two people have the same fingerprints.
So the scientists searched a database, which matched the print
with the suspect. They could confidently point their finger at the
hunter, who pleaded guilty and went to jail.24 JUNE / JULY 2017
THE VICTIMS: ELK
THE CRIME SCENE: COLORADO
THE EVIDENCE: FINGERPRINTSTOCKBYTE / GETTY IMAGES (HANDCUFFS, MICROSCOPE); © MARK RAYCROFT / MINDEN PICTURES (ELK);
DAVID MCGLYNN / TAXI / GETTY IMAGES (FINGERPRINT); SIEDE PREIS / GETTY IMAGES (BULLET); © THEO
ALLOFS / MINDEN PICTURES (TIGER); © ALASKA STOCK / ALAMY (FOX); OTMAR THORMANN / NORDIC
PHOTOS / GETTY IMAGES (MEATBALLS); © PURESTOCK / GETTY IMAGES (DNA)CRIME
SCENE^ EVIDEN
CEFINGERPRINT