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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1978)
Ecology trip —Alaska to A&M TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 1978 By MARILYN BROWN Ilf you think the winters are cold (College Station,imagine spending fcijie winter in a log cabin in Alaska, alif you’re bored with the fare in Jbisa, imagine eating two to three Ounds of moose meat each day. »|Steve Stringham, a Texas A&M University graduate wildlife ecology ent, did just that. With his wife in, he lived in the Alaskan wilder- iss and researched bears, moose I fox in their natural habitats. Stringham specializes in be- ioral ecology: how an aminal’s javior allows it to adapt to its ivironment. He calls his work LgtIBking minds within the skins of • "Either kinds.” It involves finding out , m much and in what manner ani- ^(fials learn. Stringham said an animal’s adapt- j^jlbility to a situation depends on ijhat it can learn. His primary inter- is in animals’ adaptability to >■ [ince men are constantly expand- into wild animal territories, gham said he thinks men must ider not only the impact their fcence has on wildlife but also men and wild animals can suc- fiilly coexist. (art of Stringham’s research has Ived teaching bears to dislike ian foods. Bears are a problem ational parks when they raid pers’ groceries and garbage ps. [tringham said an animal learns islike a food which makes it sick. Aggie food Drive April 3, 4, 5 ■X Mu He has experimented by putting a chemical which makes the bear nauseous into the foods it should not eat. Lithium chloride, a salt, has been used in honeybee hives in Canada with moderate success. Stringham said he is trying to find out why it has not worked better. Stringham said electric shock was also used in some experiments. Electric fences were put around garbage dumps to keep the bears out, but the fence only make them mad. “And you don’t want to make a bear mad, especially a grizzly,” he said. Stringham said unless bears can be taught to leave human foods alone, there is little chance of con tinuing to have wild bears in na tional parks. He said bears are “extraordinarily good learners,” and found them fas cinating to study. He said many bears like music and many have a sense of humor, even to the point of being practical jokers. Stringham said he became in terested in bears when a friend of his was attacked. Before that, he earned his masters degree working with moose. The moose were kept in mile-square pens cut through the natural brush. He raised two of his own moose calves and said he often woke with ELECT CHUCK WISE OFF CAMPUS UNDERGRADUATE SENATOR two cold noses in his face or with eight hooves running over him. Stringham met his wife in Alaska and married her under an alter of moose antlers. They spent their first summer in a clear plastic tent, but Stringham said they enjoyed the continuous Alaskan summer sun. Out of money, they spent the next winter in a friend’s log cabin in the wilderness, 20 or 30 miles from their closest neighbor. “We spent the winter as a matter of survival,” Stringham said. They depended on the meat they could hunt and the berries they could gather and preserve before the winter set in. Passing the time was no problem. They cut a tree of wood a day and had to hike a quarter of a mile for drinkable water. Stringham said he took up sculpture and woodcarving, his wife played the guitar, and they both took up gazing at the moon and the magnificence of their wilderness surroundings. He said they found tremendous satisfaction in producing for them selves. “When we were warm or drank water, we knew we had provided it ourselves,” he said. He is anxious to CAREER SALES Excellent future for responsible sales-oriented Individual who enjoys active contact with public. For per manent resident only, no travel. Ex penses paid at home office training school plus training locally. Position offers stable career with substantial Income and managerial opportunity. Call Frank Novak At 846-2426 or 693-8754 return to Alaska but first wants to earn his doctorate degree here. Stringham laughed when asked how he found his way to Texas A&M from Alaska. He said Texas A&M has one of the finest wildlife schools in the world and that Fritz Walther, a Texas A&M professor of wildlife and fisheries science is one of the best ethologists in the world. Ethol ogy is the study of animal behavior in the wild. Stringham has taught labs here in ecology, mammalogy and ethology. He said there are many Texans in Alaska with the oil companies and that Texas A&M does wildlife re- search in areas where oil is being developed. He said he hoped for funds from oil companies to study the industry’s impact on bears, but has not been disappointed. Funding for wildlife research is hard to come by, and usually comes from federal and state governments, universities and other organizations. The World Wildlife Fund once sent Stringham to Austria to study the impact of hunting on big game. He also received a National Park Service grant to study black bear in the Great Smoky Mountains Na tional Park this summer. manor f<jsi ' Theatroi I- I- I- !► I* 1^. a- a- a- SATMDAI RMnr a* FEVER i— *’■ INMUYSTEMERiar -JM ML WALT BISNEn CAMLESIHK Jb2k 10MU9R i run Tl VT f Vi vv v i* .» Uli//. ^UPER TEAMS Applications: March 20-29 in MSC, COMMONS, SB ISA ■ $5 per teams All proceeds donated ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS You may be eligible for a two-year Air Force ROTC scholarship. The scholarship includes full tuition, lab expenses, incidental fees, a reimbursement for text books, and $100 a month tax free. How do you qual ify? You must have at least two years of graduate or undergraduate work remaining, and be willing to serve your nation at least four years as an Air Force officer. Scholarships are available to students who can qualify for pilot, navigator, or missile training, and to those who are majoring in selected technical and nontechni cal academic disciplines, in certain scientific areas, in undergraduate nursing, or selected premedical degree areas. Non-scholarship students enrolled in the Air Force ROTC two-year program also receive the $100 monthly tax-free allowance just like the scholarship students. Find out today about a two-year Air Force ROTC scholarship and about the Air Force way of life. Your Air Force ROTC counselor has the details. ROTC Gateway to a great way of life. BAD NEWS BUS Km BAB HEWS BURS rnmmmmL CiTIZERI BABB * PUS * BLACK SttNBIV * r* UNI ROYAL Bargain Hunters THAU :son EY AMIN It FIBERGLASS BELTED WHITEWALL Polyester Cord Plies • 78 Series Design Steel/Glass Belts SIZE PRICE F.E.T. A78-13 $23.95 $1.73 “E75T3 $27.75 $1.80 D78-14 $2HAR §5.09 E78 14 $29.12 §2.26 F78-14 $31.29 $2.42 G18-14 $32.94 i2.So H78-14 $35.41 §2.80 "07513 $33.76 §2.65 H78-15 $36 Aft 12.88 J78 15 $38.07 L78-15 $39.42 fs.lt All prices plusF.E.T. and tire "ft your car A78-13 whitewall tubeless plus $1.73 F.E.T. and tire off your car. ENGINE TUNE-UP Install new plugs, points, condenser. Set dwell, timing. Adjust choke, balance carburetor. Test starting, charging, compression. ♦26*' Any 6-pyl. U.S. car Add $6.75 for 8-cyl. cars. Some air-cond. cars extra. ALIGNMENT & front end safety check Alignment can correct improper tread wear. • Set camber, caster • Set toe-in, toe-out • Check steering • Road test the car LAND TRAC Raised White Letters for Campers, Vans, Pick-ups and Small Trucks. 10-15 C tubelfiss olus 3 29 F E T notrade-m needed $4095 PRECISION WHEEL BALANCE ’ueS’ UNIROYAL STEEL-BELTED STEELMASTER RADIAL Raised White Letters for Campers, Vans, Pick-ups and Small Trucks. $7Q95 7 50R 16 Raised White Letters plus $4 1.7 F E T No trade-m required All four wheels, weights included. SI 400 SIZE PRICE I F.E.T. 750R 16 $79.95 1 5417 1 LR78-16 $93.95 | $4.37 1 LR78-15 $98.95 j $4.64 ] 1875R-15 $105.95 1 $5.97 I PILGER'S TIRE & AUTO CENTER The Mileage People 400 E. University Dr. College Station - 846-1729 UNIROYAL <®> RlIKKO COMES IN LOUD AND CLEAR available only from CUSTOM SOUNDS NR-515 AM/FM STEREO RECEIVER 18 watts per channel 0.5% total harmonic distortion Reg. $220 SALE $ 179 95 NA-550 INTEGRATED STEREO AMPLIFIER 45 watts per channel 0.05% total harmonic distortion SALE $ 199 95 NT-550 AM/FM STEREO TUNER Reg. $180 SALE $ 149 95 5055 STEREO AM/FM RECEIVER 25 watts per channel 0.8% total harmonic distortion Reg. $280 SALE $ 189 9S 6065 STEREO AM/FM RECEIVER 33 watts per channel 0.5% total harmonic distortion Reg. $320 SALE $ 209 95 ... - *. - ** **** J ‘ I ’’y-T--, J?. f} • «* ft M * * We also have the ALPHA and BETA-II series SALE PRICES THROUGH SATURDAY ONLY CUSTOM SOUNDS 3806-A OLD COLLEGE ROAD 846-5803 Next to Triangle Bowling Alley Open Mon.-Sat. 10-6