Every year about 150,000 deer are hunted in Minnesota.
Hunters leave behind about 3 million pounds of nutritious offal on the landscape
after they field dress their deer. How this offal fits into wildlife food webs
is still not well understood. You can help us learn more!
This research project is designed to better understand what and when species use deer gut piles (offal) provided by hunters across Minnesota by using remote cameras to capture images of wildlife.
Minnesota offers a unique opportunity to look at this across four different biomes and different scavenger assemblages.
Different methods of hunting (archery, rifle, shotgun and muzzleloader) may also influence where a gut pile is located and which species visit the pile.
*please make sure you complete all pages in the registration form!
This research is made possible by:
participatory scientists who are Minnesota deer hunters and set up cameras to collect images of wildlife visiting offal
participatory scientists who identify and classify the collected images via Zooniverse
We're always seeking more volunteer hunters in Minnesota and anyone can help us ID photos!