Options to Get Involved
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Review the Science Behind the Project Here
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Raise Bioacoustics Funding for The Yellowstone Wolf Project and The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project
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Promote Education via The Five-Toed Wolf and The Languages of Life efforts
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Contribute Your Own Observations or Field Recordings and Video via Email Form
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Contribute Your Field Observations via the YOA mobile app (invitation only)
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Setup an ARU Recording Device and Contribute your Recordings
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Scientists can leverage our data for your own research on wolf communication. For more information, see here.
Fund Raising
We are looking for organizations and individuals to help fund...
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additional Automatic Recording Devices ($1,000 per ARU)
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research on the biomechanics of the vocal and hearing apparatus of wolves, i.e. "how" they are vocalizing and hearing ($20,000)
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research on the neural processes of wolf communication ($50,000+)
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continued development of artificial intelligence classifiers and GANs ($10,000)
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inspirational educational displays for museums and public sites in the Greater Yellowstone ($10,000+)
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100 vinyl records to be used at auctions to raise funding for The Yellowstone Wolf Project and The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project ($3000)
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prototype hardware and software to test the viability of deterring wolves in livestock conflict scenarios via playbacks of chorus howls that simulate a rival pack with large body size and number of wolves ($100,000)
Contact us for detailed business plans for any of the above, or to suggest your own ideas.
Promote Education
We are looking for creative people to help...
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create curriculum for schools
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generate awareness of wolf communication to the general public
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create content for The Languages of Life web site
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market the sounds, records, and shwag of Five-Toed Wolf which raises funding for The Yellowstone Wolf Project and The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project
Contribute Your Own Field Recordings
There are many options for recording sounds in the field. For an overview of different options, check out the information on recording devices at The Languages of Life website. Even if your recording isn't very good, your observation that goes with that recording can be very useful, since we have recording devices in the field (for general information see our Google map here). We correlate your observations to the recordings for our study. The more context you provide, the better we can analyze the sounds and the better our overall understanding of wolf communication becomes.
But where we don't have automatic recording devices in the field, your audio and especially video recordings become very valuable. The best recordings can be made with a Nikon Video Camera using a Sennheiser MKE600 (see The Languages of Life recording guide). But even a cell phone (within at least 1 mile of the source) can do a pretty good job.
The golden rule is that if there is unusual context which you can observe along with the recording, then the recording is worth sending to us. An example would be a wolf that is separated from its pack, or one that is responding to a competing pack. Or wolves howling before or after a kill. Or a wolf howling at a potential suitor during the breeding season. Most importantly, a good recording is one where you know the ID of the wolf (or pack) making the vocalization. An example of a less valuable recording would be a wolf you can't see in the trees that is howling...unless of course there is something else in the context that is notable. The more contextual information you can provide in your notes, the better.
In order to contribute a recording, first fill out the form to the right and then we will reach out to you to get the actual digital file. Please use the following naming convention for your file:
Pack_YYYYMMDD_HHMM_location_notes
E.g.: RescueCreek_20230812_1002_trashcan pullout_female alpha 907F howling
Terms & Conditions: By contributing files, you are warranting that you are the copyright holder and can deliver a lawsuit free recording. Additionally, you agree that your data will be used to create an AI model for our use and in the final AI model we will distribute for scientific use, and that we may choose to feature your work (with credits) on our website.
Yellowstone Observations App
Download the Microsoft "Power Apps" or "Power Apps for Business" app to your iPhone (or iPad) and Android device.
When you open the Power Apps app on your phone, you will be asked to "Sign In". Contact jeff@reedfly.com to get the username and password necessary to log on.
One you are logged on, at the bottom of the Home Screen, select the "All Apps" icon and you will be presented with a list of applications. Select the "Yellowstone Observations" app with the wolf track logo.
Once you select the "Yellowstone Observations" app you will be presented with this screen. It will list the last 100 observations sorted by lasted entered. An icon of a globe is at the top which will tell you if you are connected to the Internet or not. If you are not connected, your observations will not be loaded in to the database for others to see until you connect to the Internet.
You can either select and observation in the list and view its data (and then edit it) OR you can add a new entry by selecting the + icon in the top right.
If you select an observation in the list (in the previous screen) you will see its details, along with a map of where the observation was made (scroll down to see the map).
You can also choose to edit the observation by clicking on the pencil icon in the top right.
If you select the + (add new observation) icon on the screen with a list of observations, you will be taken to this screen where you enter a new observation.
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The current date/time and your current latitude and longitude (based on your cell phone) will automatically be populated.
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Select the primary species you are observing (you can enter secondary species in the Notes field).
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Select "Citizen Scientist" from the list in the "Observed By" drop-down and then enter your name in the "Citizen Scientist" text box below. Do NOT ever delete any one else's observation or enter someone else's name, or you will be removed from the program.
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Then enter your notes by selecting the box and either typing in your notes or using your phones speech-to-text icon to dictate your notes.
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Lastly, if you have a video (or still picture), scroll down to the Video File Name field and IF you used a DSLR then enter the file name of the recording, OR IF you recorded a video on your cell phone, then click on the + icon and select the video file from our phone and the file name will be entered in to the field. To upload the actual video to the database, use the Azure Storage Explorer tool as defined in the next section, and once logged in, go to the "videos" folder in the "reedflystorage" container and upload your file (file names must be unique).
To view all observations in the database, use the web app at the top of this page (contact jeff@reedfly.com) to get logon credentials. From the app you can select the species, data range, and observer to narrow down to the scope of observations. You can then select an observation from the list on the right, as well select the video file of that observation. You can then compare these observations to actual audio recordings from the ARU's in that vicinity. Below is a screen show of the web app showing one observations. You can also export the list of observations to a .csv file.
Setup an Automatic Recording Unit on Private Property
Purchase a Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter Mini 2 Lithium (with 12 batteries, a charger and two 256 gig minimum SD cards). Instructions below are how to configure a two-microphone device but you can optionally purchase a one-microphone device. Email jeff@reedfly.com to setup a Zoom meeting on how to contribute your audio files for analysis.
Optionally, learn how to analyze your own recordings with the Kaleidoscope Pro (free and paid versions). There are excellent tutorials here.
Download the "Song Meter Configurator" app to your iPhone or Android.
The initial screen looks like this and will allow you to add a new Wildlife Acoustics recorder or allow you to see any that have already been configured.
Once configured, you will see a list of ARU's in the screen. If you are within 20 feet of the ARU you can click on the "status" icon to see the current status of that ARU.
If you open the lid of the ARU and press the "pair" button, the Song Meter Configurator software on your phone will display a "pair" button.
If you select the "Status" icon you will see this screen, which tells you various information about the status of the recorder.
If the recorder is recording, you will see at least one "recording", which is a good indicator that it is working without having to open up the lit and looking at the status lights (of which the recording LED will be blinking green if it is recording).
If you select the "Configure" icon from the main screen, you will see this screen. This is where you set important acoustics settings, especially the following.
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When you first click on the "configure" button the device will ask you if you want to set the location and time based on your cell phone's setting. Select yes, or set them yourself.
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We record such that each 60 minute .wav file starts at the top of the hour. So, select "Delay Start" and pick the next day from today.
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Make sure the "record birds/frogs 24 hours a day" is selected, which is NOT the default like you see in this screen.
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You can also select the "Utilities" icon and then format the SD card so that it is blank.
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Select the "Acoustic Settings" and use the settings in the below screen.
Once you select the "Acoustics Settings" in the previous screen you will see these settings.
- Set the "Sample Rate" to 22050 hertz. This allows us to capture 11,000 hertz which is the maximum range of most species in Yellowstone.
- Set the "Maximum Recording Length" to 60 Minutes.
- Set the "Channel" to Stereo which will use both mics and catch sounds from both sides of the recorder. In order to save battery life, you can switch to the right or left channel but point that mic in the direction you are likely to get vocalizations. Both mics result in about 1 month of battery life (and double the SD storage). One mic results in 2 months of battery life, which can be useful in some situations.
- Set the left and right channel gain to 12 decibels.