Lethbridge College unveils new Wildlife Analytics Lab, first of its kind in Canada
Lethbridge College’s newest lab addition is putting the focus on animal teeth.
Those at the Centre for Technology, Environment and Design (CTED) say the Wildlife Analytics Lab (WAL) fills a need provincially and nationally.
"The wildlife analytics lab is the first of its kind in Canada and is starting off focusing on cementum analysis, which is tactical jargon for looking inside teeth, to determine the age of animals," said Dr. Everett Hanna, an environmental sciences instructor at the college.
The lab analyzes animal cementum, the hard tissue covering the roots in teeth, through a series of tests and processes.
This data, once retrieved, can not only help determine an animal’s age but also its migratory patterns and assist with disease management.
"Thousands of teeth are collected annually across Canada and typically sent to the United States for analysis because there was no previous service provider in Canada," said Hanna.
This data, once retrieved, can not only help determine an animal’s age but also its migratory patterns and assist with disease management.
"We're now offering an opportunity for Canadian researchers and agencies, and others around the world, to send teeth to us for our lab to process those samples that otherwise would've had to go to the United States for example."
The teeth come from a variety of mammals, including deer, coyotes, wolves and even bears.
The lab comes thanks to $145,000 in funding and gifts from the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society (APOS) who say there's a huge demand for this type of reliable research.
"We had some resources available and we thought this was a great project for Alberta," said APOS’s President, Corey Jarvis.
"It's a great opportunity to incorporate education as well as meeting the scientific needs of Alberta and wildlife management in particular."
The lab is already receiving contracts from agencies and researchers to help improve conservation efforts across Canada.
"We’re getting interest from people from Nunavut to British Columbia to Alberta and all the way out to Newfoundland where people are collecting these teeth from all mammals that are out there that we have an interest in managing that have cementum for us to do aging for them," Hanna told CTV News.
On top of being a self-sustaining, fee-for-service lab, students will also be able to use it as part of their studies and training.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
The Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for the life of the country's prime minister, who was shot multiple times after a political event Wednesday afternoon.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION If you think you can’t focus for long, you’re right: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.