Funding for this research was provided by:
Grasslands Council of British Columbia
Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
British Columbia Government’s Future Forest Ecosystems Science Committee
Article History
Received: 12 August 2025
Accepted: 27 January 2026
First Online: 4 February 2026
Declarations
:
: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
: Surgeries and field procedures were performed under Protocols AUP 2010–05 and AUP 2011-04R and Standard Operating Procedure SOP 2010–02 as approved by the Animal Ethics Committee at Thompson Rivers University. General Wildlife Permits KA10–61565 and VI10–61565 were issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.
: Not applicable.
: Not applicable.