GPS collars attached to wildlife like deer, bears, moose, elk and pronghorns have opened biologist’s eyes to how far these species may move across the landscape as the seasons change.

Epic feats of travel have been recorded in Wyoming showing elk swimming streams in spring runoff to reach ideal grazing areas. A mule deer doe has trekked 500 miles each year from the Red Desert of southwestern Wyoming to Grand Teton National Park. Pronghorns, although prairie animals, have been photographed moving through mountainous areas to reach good food.

Likewise, in Montana pronghorns have been recorded crossing a frozen Fort Peck Reservoir and running down Highway 2 on the Hi-Line for six hours during a blizzard. Grizzlies have been tracked moving across Interstate 90. Mountain lions have been monitored swimming the Missouri River and traveling as far as the Dakotas from the Missouri Breaks.

Brett French, outdoors editor at the Billings Gazette, talks about this accumulation of migration information, as well as to help us understand how this data is being used.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.