P.O. Box 666, Cody, WY 82414 ∙ Telephone: (307) 578-8613 ∙ e-mail: info@wyomingwildsheep.org

Photos by Fred Goetz
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News

WGFD Funding Initiative October 2012

Bennett Hills Guzzler Project July 2012

Wyoming Livestock Roundup highlights Dr. Srikumaran's
2012 WY-WSF Banquet presentation

Teton Bighorn Sheep Project 2012 Update

View Latest Newsletter with Pictures

Here's an update on the mid-January 2012 drop-net trapping operation @ Whiskey Basin, including some preliminary Wyoming State Vet Lab/Wyoming Game and Fish Department Disease Lab sampling results. And, a link to some WGFD video footage. By all accounts, this was a very successful operation. Thanks to WGFD N. Lander Wildlife Biologist Greg Anderson who spearheaded this operation, photographer Mark Gocke of WGFD Jackson office for his photos, and to WGFD Wildlife Disease Specialist Hank Edwards for sharing some of the diagnostic findings. Congratulations to all involved, including a number of WY-WSF members who volunteered their time & travel, to assist this project, which WY-WSF supported through our Grant-In-Aid funding program!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICdTCw80hXw&feature=youtu.be

 
Whiskey Basin BHS Trapping

Laboratory results are now available from the Whiskey Basin bighorn sheep health surveillance/trapping conducted in mid January. Of 47 bighorns sampled, 14 (30%) were found to be harboring Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, while one animal was found to be infected with Mannheimia haemolytica.

 

Blood samples were also analyzed for antibodies to several common causes of pneumonia in domestic cattle and sheep. WGFD selected a representative subset of 18 samples from the entire set of 47 and submitted them to the State Vet lab for testing. Tests for BRSV (Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus), OPP/CAE (Ovine Progressive Pneumonia/Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis), and IBR (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis), were all negative. Low to moderate titers were found to PI-3 (Parainfluenza 3 virus) in 11 of the 18 samples. It is not unusual to find evidence of exposure to this virus and to date we have been unable to directly link exposure with disease in wildlife. Finally, WGFD also submitted whole blood samples to the State Vet lab for testing lead levels; of the 12 samples submitted for testing, all were found to have very low levels of lead.
 

So, what does all this mean? Keep in mind that this health survey is only one snap shot in time, but from WGFD's perspective there is both good and bad news from these results. The bad news is finding one sheep with M. haemolytica - meaning the potential is there for this herd to experience another significant die off, if the right circumstances should ever come together. This only says the potential is there, not that it is absolutely going to happen. The good news is that relatively few animals are infected with M. ovipneumoniae. This low prevalence surprise many in WGFD, who expected the entire herd to be infected. Although this organism is not thought to be a primary pathogen in BHS pneumonia, it is thought to be a contributing factor, so finding only 30% of the herd infected with Movi is encouraging.
 

After 20+ years of depressed lamb recruitment and survival, at this point it unknown where the Whiskey Basin herd is on the "recovery timeline". Finding a low prevalence of M.ovipneumoniae may indicate this herd is starting to shed this bug and recover - but maybe not; perhaps this herd has maintained this level of infection for several years. For these reasons, WGFD is considering resampling the Whiskey Basin herd every two to four years, to better understand what disease processes may be active, as well as better predicting if and when this herd may recover.

December 2011

TO:         Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation Life Members
FROM:   Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation

For those of you who made it to our 2011 WY-WSF (complimentary) Life Member breakfast on June 4th in Casper, you might recall a generous offer made by Ron Pomeroy (LM #168) to sponsor new nametags for all our Life Members, reflecting our new logo. Subsequently, Ron secured 3 WY-WSF Life Member partners to help sponsor these nametags. We have had new LM nametags made by Peden's in Casper, and we are happy to now provide those to our WY-WSF Life Members.

If you'd like to thank the generous WY-WSF Life Members who made this possible, please contact and express your thanks to:

Ron Pomeroy (LM #168)
Jeff Reynolds (LM #2)
William (Butch) Townsend (LM #177)
Keith West (LM #16)


In Memoriam

Wild sheep, the conservation community, and Wyoming WSF prematurely lost 2 good friends in July 2011 and another in September 2011. Our thoughts, prayers, and remembrances go out to the families and close friends of those individuals.

On July 12, 2011, Glenn Anderson (WY-WSF Life Member #95) of Anchorage, AK unexpectedly passed away due to an illness. Glenn was a biologist, forester, and fire specialist, and he and his family moved to Alaska in 1980. Most of us knew Glenn as an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and he served the Alaska Chapter of FNAWS for many years as a board member and, ultimately, as their President.

Mark Fountain (WY-WSF Life Member #102) of Montgomery, MA died July 27, 2011 while diving for lobster off the upper Florida Keys. Mark enjoyed coming to Wyoming and Montana to hunt big game, and WY-WSF Past-President Cole Benton was fortunate enough to guide Mark on 5 hunts, for 8 animals. Every year, Mark was a ready donor to help underwrite the WY-WSF Life Member complimentary breakfast, even though he was only able to attend this event once.

On September 23, 2011, Mike Tonn (WY-WSF Life Member #352) of Gillette, WY un-expectedly passed away. Mike was an accomplished big game and mountain hunter, having just completed his Grand Slam ® of North American rams recently. Mike loved to hunt wild sheep, and he was a great supporter of wild sheep organizations, joining WY-WSF as a Life Member in spring 2011.

These men all left their mark on the wild sheep community; we will miss them all.


New Book - "DESERT BIGHORNS - Arizona's Mountain Kings"

In case you might be interested in a new book on desert BHS; please note the price on "first-run" edition, with anticipated increased cost for later editions...KH

"Announcing the publication of the most significant sheep book ever published on the subject of hunting world-class desert bighorns: DESERT BIGHORNS- Arizona's Mountain Kings.  The book includes over 400 pages with 365 color photos.  Please refer to the website for details: www.desertbighornsltd.com."


Photo of Past-President Cole Benton receiving the 2011 Ron Ball Award on Saturday night, June 4, 2011. The highest honor awarded by WY-WSF, the Ron Ball Award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding achievement and contributions toward the betterment of Wyoming's Bighorn Sheep resource.
From Left to right:  Fritz Meyer (2010), Jim Collins (2004), Kevin Hurley (2003), Cole Benton (2011), Steve Kilpatrick (2007), Gary Butler (2009, past and current recipients of the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation's Ron Ball Award.

Bighorn Sheep Project - Seminoe Mountain Range
Observation Report – March 25, 2011
Justin Clapp, WGFD

Bighorn sheep movements in the Seminoe Range have not altered dramatically from previous reports (Feb. 22, 2011), but a tendency to band into larger groups has been recently observed. High winds and warm temperatures melted much of the snowpack on and around Seminoe through the first few weeks of March, leaving most south- facing and low-elevation slopes relatively open.

Recent predations were inspected shortly after predation. Hounds were used on March 10 in an attempt to legally harvest the lion from the kill (Figure 3, #2), but after identifying tracks of a mature female with two kittens, the hunt was discontinued. Over the next few days, mountain lion sign (i.e., tracks, scrapes, previous kills) was identified in the lower Morgan Creek region, with at least one mature male lion responsible for the kill to the west (Figure 3, #4), as well as several older mule deer kills found in the general vicinity between the two predations. This indicates that resident lions which feed on the higher concentrations of deer in the area may have taken advan­tage of the newly-relocated sheep occupying the south facing slope, but do not appear to be target­ing them specifically as a prey source.

A WGFD Chapter 56 (lethal-take) permit was issued for the male mountain lion, and if cap­tured, plans were made for the female and kittens to be moved from the area, in an attempt to aug­ment survival potential for the remaining ewes in Morgan Creek. Mule deer carcasses with trail cameras were distributed throughout the area, and cage traps were set for several days, with no mountain lion activity documented since initial predation took place. Multiple hunters were also encouraged to legally harvest a lion, but with no snow and rugged terrain, their efforts have been unsuccessful, to date. With most of the snowpack melted, many of the concentrated populations of mule deer in the area have dispersed, possibly causing mountain lions in the area to alter move­ments based on primary prey activities. We will continue to monitor carcasses and mountain lion activities in the area in addition to routine tracking activities of bighorn sheep.

With the exception of recent predations, overall health of remaining bighorn sheep on Seminoe is promising, with no sickness or injuries observed. The remaining ewes in Morgan Creek continue to be closely monitored, and all sheep over the next month should begin to separate in preparation for lambing, with a minimum of 30 mature ewes observed throughout the range.

If you’re interested in finding out more about this Seminoe BHS transplant, and what monitoring has shown, the latest happenings on Wyoming's bighorn sheep scene, be sure to attend the (free) seminars from 1:00-4:00 PM on Saturday June 4th, at the Parkway Plaza in Casper. As you can see from the seminar listing in the 2011 WY-WSF Fundraiser/Convention announcement (see page 8 of this newsletter), presentations will be given on the Newcastle/Hunt Area 20, Wheatland/Hunt Area 19, Seminoe/Ferris Mountains/Hunt Area 17, Targhee/Hunt Area 6, and Jackson/ Hunt Area 7 bighorn sheep herds. Come, listen, learn, and visit with Wyoming’s bighorn sheep managers. And while you're there, plan on coming to the WY-WSF banquet that evening!

Figure 1. Bighorn locations on S side Seminoe Mtns.

  1. Largest group of bighorns (n=21), including 3 rams, multiple ewes and lambs. All 2010 transplants.

  2. Lone ram

  3. Lone ewe

Not shown- Group of six bighorns occupying Bennett Mountains directly east.

Figure 2. Bighorn locations on N side Seminoe Range.

  1. Three ewes, two lambs on W side Cortes Canyon.

  2. Eleven sheep (2 rams, 6 ewes, 3 lambs) around Hamilton Creek; these sheep show integration from multiple transplants.

  3. Two ewes on E side Cortes Canyon.

  4. Lone ram.

  5. Lone ewe from Pedro Mountain moved to the E, near Alcova highway.

Figure 3. Bighorn sheep in Morgan Creek.

  1. Three remaining ewes on face N of government housing area.

  2. Bighorn ewe mortality from lion depredation. March 9, 2011.

  3. Unknown mortality signal from bighorn ewe, early February 2011.

  4. Bighorn ewe mortality from lion depredation. March 10, 2011. This kill found within 100yds of lion depredation that occurred Jan. 1, 2011.

Click here to view and/or download a PDF file copy of this project report.

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Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation
P.O. Box 666

Cody, Wyoming 82414
Telephone: (307) 578-8613
e-mail: info@wyomingwildsheep.org

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