FUZZY FORENSICS:
DNA FINGERPRINTING GETS WILD
Elk Ranching
The first Alberta elk ranch opened in 1977. As of 2013, 12,688 elk lived on 197
ranches around the province.
In addition to meat, elk are raised for their antler velvet, a traditional medicine for
joint problems like arthritis.
Wildlife Forensics
Animal meat, bones, blood, antlers, hair, feathers, and scat can all be used as sources
of DNA in forensic cases.
DNA fingerprints are made using repeated DNA sequences, called microsatellites.
Forensic scientists follow three steps to complete a DNA fingerprint: purifying DNA,
copying microsatellites using PCR, and measuring the length of the microsatellites
with gel electrophoresis.
Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory was founded in 1973. DNA
fingerprinting wasn’t used for wildlife cases in Canada until 1991.
Animal Conservation
Marks like ear tags, leg bands, and GPS collars help ranchers and biologists identify
individual animals from a distance. This helps workers track, count, and monitor
animals without disturbing them.
Moose and white-tailed deer are the most common victims of wildlife crime in
Alberta.
The black market in wildlife species is worth over 20 billion US dollars a year, more
than illegal drugs or guns.
Wildlife trafficking affects 33% of threatened animal species, 30% of threatened
bird species, and 6% of threatened amphibian species worldwide.
180 countries belong to CITES, an international convention for protection of
threatened and endangered species.
Published by Ashby-BP Publishing Summer 2014
www.ashby-bp.com