A necropsy is an animal autopsy, and done properly, it’s careful work. Every sample has to be collected cleanly, weighed, labelled and stored the right way, or the lab results that come back won’t mean much. That’s why the first course on Kotawân’s new learning platform is all about muskrat necropsy.

Kotawân didn’t come from one office or one organization. It came from trappers, community members, youth, elders, scientists and a lot of people willing to spend long days at a necropsy table. The portal will only be as good as the people who take part in it, so we’re asking you to get involved.

Kotawân is the Cree word for campfire. We picked it on purpose. A campfire is where people sit down together after a day on the land, talk about what they saw, and pass along what they know. We wanted this portal to work the same way.