| April 27, 1984 | ROCKETEER |
| Bighorn sheep released at Eagle Crags last December doing well |
Thrive in Refuge | |
| The bighorn sheep
reintroduced to NWC lands last December are doing well, and their number is
increasing. At least one lamb was born in January, possibly two others were,
and more are expected to arrive along with the spring wildflower blossoms
between now and June. Ten ewes were thought to be pregnant. A total of 8 rams and 17 ewes were gathered from the Old Dad and Marble Mountain areas (near Baker, Calif.) by Department of Fish and Game personnel and volunteers during the first week of December, and were moved to the Eagle Crags region of the Center's Mojave B range by Navy helicopter. The reintroduction of sheep into their traditional range was made possible by the removal of burros from Navy lands. When the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni were captured to be moved, their general health was checked, blood tests were made for blood parasites and for selenium levels (to see whether they were adequate for lambing and lamb survival), and they were checked for internal parasites. The DFG laboratories that checked the blood drawn report that no blood parasites were found in any of the animals, and selenium levels were adequate. A few animals had internal parasites, but that was expected. Seventeen of the animals had radio collars put around their necks before they were released so that they could be tracked. (All animals also were ear-tagged. No collars were put on the other animals because they were not fully grown and biologists feared that if these were given collars large enough to allow for growth, they could get a hoof tangled in it. Each of the collared animals was assigned its own radio frequency so it is possible to keep track of each animal separately. Tom Campbell, a wildlife biologist in the Environmental Branch of the Public Works Department, spends approximately two days each week checking on the bighorns. He says that he drives to high points where he can then use a radio and direction finding equipment to locate the collared |
animals.
Notations are made on each animal's record regarding where it was located by
this means, and then Campbell tries to find the animals visually as well to see
their general condition and behavior and to check for new lambs. Life expectancy of the batteries in the collars is about 22 months, by which time the animals should be well settled in their new homes. The majority of the sheep, both collared and uncollared, are within 8 miles of the release site in the Eagle Crags area. This particular site was chosen because the last known sheep on Center lands lived in that area, and several year-round springs exist to ensure adequate water. However, three sheep have moved into the Slate or Panamint Ranges to considerably higher elevations than the 5,000 feet or so at the Eagle Crags. These are more than 20 miles from the release site, with one adult ram actually heading clear up to the Butte Valley in Death Valley National Monument. That sheep has wandered more than 30 air miles from the release site and has probably traversed more than 50 miles on the ground to get that far off. Even though the animal has wandered so far, it may well return to the release site since sheep show unusual fidelity to their home areas. Two sheep have not been located, but their radio collars beep just enough to let Campbell know that they are still alive. One sheep is a confirmed mortality - probably due to coyotes, Campbell says. Its body was found in the Ship Rock area where the coyotes apparently kept it. from water until it was sufficiently weakened for them to attack it successfully. That only one so far is a confirmed mortality indicates the success of the project, he notes, since losses were anticipated. In fact, had losses been higher than expected, the Center's natural resources specialists might have needed to supplement the initial release with some additional sheep to provide the best sex ratios and age distributions to establish a viable herd. So far, this action does not appear to be necessary. |
Bighorn Sheep Are Bouncing Back in Hills of Arizona By PHYLLIS GILLESPIE, Associated Press YUMA Ariz.-The bighorn sheep reign again in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. A few head of cattle and wild burros remain on the 660,000-acre desert preserve northeast of here. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge, is in the midst of getting rid of the cattle accouterments and making the land more suitable for wildlife. An estimated 800 bighorn sheep step nimbly atop the Kofa and Castle Dome mountain ranges on the refuge. The sheep thrive so well here that it has become the main source for bighorn sheep repopulation efforts in the Southwest. "The refuge was established primarily for the bighorn sheep and other wildlife." said Milton Haderlie, refuge manager. "The act that established the refuge said livestock can use forage not needed by the wildlife." Different Opinion The Kofa Refuge was established in 1939 and until 1976 was under the joint control of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM had a different opinion about the level of grazing that was compatible with the needs of wildlife at the refuge, Haderli. said. Cattle bad been alloted 27% of the land. When the Fish and Wildlife Service was put in charge of the refuge, it conducted a study that resulted in reducing the number of cattle grazing on the Lana in 1962 from 350 from 250. Then a private organization, the Trust for Public Land, bought out the improvements and any water rights owned by the last grazing leaseholder and sold them to the federal government, Haderlie said. "We got most of the cattle off last spring," he said. "There may be three very wild ones left." The estimated 160 wild burros were not as easy to round up and move off the rugged refuge land. Most of the so-called roads in the area require four-wheel-drive vehicles. "There are a lot of people who like horses and burros who feel these animals have a right to be out there." Haderlie said. "But we feel they are not native animals and should not be there." A compromise solution was reached whereby as many burros as possible would be captured alive and given to the BLM for its adoption program. When BLM burro specialists determined captures were too difficult to continue, the animals would be shot, Haderlie said. "Even the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros agreed to this method." |
