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Show 35 When bears are to be tranquilized with dart guns, the amount of tranquilizer has to be measured precisely, based on the bears' weight, so that they won't be harmed. Roger watched the shadowy forms of the moving animals and vias able to estimate their weights. He put Janey in charge of f i l l i n g the darts viith tranquilizer, t e l l i n g her the exact amount to use. By f l a s h l i g h t , Janey inserted a syringe into the end of a bottle of liquid tranquilizer, just as a doctor does when he's going to give a shot. Then she squirted the fluid into the darts, which are metal tubes viith long needles on one end and feathers on the other- Janey handed the f i r s t dart to Roger. He would have to hit the mother grizzly f i r s t ; if he hit one of the cubs, the sovi would react viith savage maternal fury. Roger slipped the dart into the gun, aimed the barrel carefully through the van viindow, and fired. The "whoosh" of the shot shredded the s t i l l n e s s as the dart struck the mother grizzly's shoulder. Janey knevi that the she-bear had been hit because the animal gave a deep grunt that vias almost a moan. Within seconds, tfle big animal dropped to the ground, unable to move but s t i ll conscious. Janey and Roger had to rush to tranquilize the cubs, since the drug's action is short-lived - as soon as the mother could function again, she would try to defend her babies. When a l l three bears viere helpless and the vehicles' headlights had been turned on so the rangers could see, Janey, Roger, and five others ran to l i f t the 300-pound sow. They hauled her to a cage built from culvert pipe, then dropped a gridlike gate over the open end. They carried the cubs to another cage. |
