Posted on 03/20/2023 2:38:44 PM PDT by CFW
The Red Desert and the larger area surrounding Rawlins is usually a winter haven for wildlife – one of the few places elk, deer and antelope can migrate to where large patches of ground afford at least some forage.
That’s not happening this year, and as many as half of the antelope in the area, as well as significant numbers of mule deer, are expected to die as a result, some Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials said.
Radio collars are telling a heart-wrenching story in some areas.
Game and Fish frequently captures animals to be fitted with radio collars and turned loose, so biologists can track their movements and learn information about the herds. And the news this winter hasn’t been good.
In one Red Desert antelope herd, 14 of 33 collared animals died in January, Rawlins area Game and Fish biologist Greg Hiatt said in a recorded report shared with Cowboy State Daily.
(Excerpt) Read more at cowboystatedaily.com ...
Global Warming has left the antelope as smoldering piles of cinders
Every creature trying to make a living and giving it the best it can.
I wish the Antelopes of Wyoming all the best. Wyoming would be poorer without them.
Deer will bounce back quickly. Here in Pennsylvania a significant amount of the whitetail deer herd is harvested by hunters each year. There are no natural predators and hunting is the only way to keep the population in check. The deer herd returns to it’s baseline each year.
The blm shutdown the gas field Mesa to facilitate the migration of the herd.
I always thought it was bull$hit because the friken antelope were every where.
They would sneak under the barbed wire to try to get to the slurry pits
“One year we will hear of a great reduction in the herds of some wild animals due to extreme cold, and then the following year we will hear of mild winters which caused an over-abundance of the same animals which cause a threat of over-grazing of wild grasses.”
Exactly right. Wild animal populations soar and shrink for those reasons. One year you have mild winters and plentiful food and populations soar. Then it collapses and populations shrink.
We have lots of crazy people near us in North Idaho who think it is their obligation to care for all of God’s creatures, especially when they are hungry or starving in the winter. The Fish & Game Dept tells people it is exactly the wrong thing to do to feed the deer in winter. Their bodies adapt to eating woody food in the winter when grasses and forage are not available. The people are actually killing the deer with their kindness and store-bought feed.
About one out of 50 people on the NextDoor app say it is their right, their obligation to care for the animals in winter. 49 people try to convince the one person they are doing exactly the wrong thing. But they will not listen to reason or science. It is weird.
I wish a harsh winter would think our whitetail herds. They are always out of control. The city surreptitiously thins the herd every year, but damn those does are prolific breeders, almost as bad as rabbits. The people still go ga-ga in the spring when the does throw the fawns. All I see is more rats eating everything in sight.
The wildlife management in PA is some of the worst around.
BUT-—The idiots still want to release MORE WOLVES——
I agree.
My father and extended family lived Rawlins, Wy. Thank you for reminding me of him.
Think of it this way: The wolves will feed on the dead antelope instead of cattle. A win for the ranchers and the wolves.
(Of course next winter may be warm, the antelope don't die, and the hungry wolves feed on young calves. With today's wildlife management, it's all just a crap shoot.)
Million dollars of hay and a National Guard C-130 might help them get through the next 6 weeks.
Nope. We have a ranch in SC Colorado and are loaded to the gills with them. Of course, the CO Division of Wildlife only allow us to sell 2 buck permits on our 8,000 acre spread. Meanwhile, there are herds up to 60 head that can be seen at any one time. My father had no love for them.
Looks like WY reduced the number of available pronghorn and mule deer tags in 2021 and 2022
Mother Nature’s in charge; we’re just along for the ride.
Antelope Popsicles
No better eating than antelope meat especially where they graze the alfalfa fields!
“Half Of Antelope In Rawlins-Red Desert Could Die”
Never seen just half of an antelope die. Top half? Bottom half? Would it be “half-dead”?
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