Bad Day?

Ever have as bad a day as this poor little creature in the picture? I hope not. I've had bad days all right but nothing as bad as this. I ran across this unfortunate animal partially trapped in pond ice last winter. Must have froze up real fast for him/her to not be able to get to safety in time. Maybe it was wounded or weak or sick and couldn't make it. Maybe it was already dead and somebody threw it onto a then slush-covered pond where it later froze around it. But who would bother with a dead rodent? And there were little tracks around it on the ice. I don't know, it may seem like a sick photo to some folks but I just had to remember the little creature. How many other people do you think sit and wonder and feel sad for a rodent that froze up in the ice? Probably not many. This little animal's life was worth something to me.

Last week I almost ran over a red squirrel. I was looking ahead when I saw something reddish running fast along a chain link fence. As I got closer I could tell it was a squirrel with something in its mouth getting ready to high tail it across the road in front of me. Just as I got there, it leapt(?) across. I didn't feel a thump but I didn't see the squirrel on the other side either. Of course I turned the car around and go see if it was laying dead on the road. To my relief there were no signs of it.

Odd things to post about but I really don't feel like getting into the usual wildlife woes of the West right now. Spring fever is giving me the itch to go to Yellowstone for the day and see the "big" (animals-wolves, buffalo, bears) but I am having a fine time enjoying the small animals and birds around here.

Bighorn Sheep Herd Annihilated

Photo: A small bighorn grazing on Tower Road in Yellowstone last July. I rounded a corner and there it was! Note that I did not get out of the car to harass or pet the sheep or even to get a better photo.

Last week a herd of Montana bighorn sheep was found to have contracted pnuemonia, most likely from domestic sheep or goats. The bighorn herd contained about 220 indiviuals but now only 19 are left.

Read Helena's Independent Republic story here.

This is sad news, epecially in an area ruled by livestock interests. Bighorn numbers have been decreasing overall without this disease. Bighorns have repeateldly been relocated to areas "better for them." I personally worked on a bighorn relocation project deciding which areas would be best to do controlled burns. This project was for future use and hasn't been carried out yet. Why burn an area? Well, mountain lions hang out on treed areas to hide from their prey. An area of very little or no tree cover would be void of mountain lions therefore safer for bighorns. Needless to say, I did have personal issues with this project but it was a fantastic way to learn about wildlife management.

We should have just left all the animals where they were to begin with, as the Natives did. Things are all messed up for animals like the bighorns. Plus it takes much money to relocate animals to areas that aren't suitable for them anyway-rounding them up and sometimes tranquilizing them, fuel costs to haul the animals, money to forcibly make suitable habitat, money to relocated the animals being displaced-like the mountain lions (which are probably just shot anyway), money to pay the folks and agencies doing the relocating.... All seems ridiculous and wasteful to me. Oh, I understand it is in the name of "saving a species" but is it truly helping or just making more problems?

A Happy Twist in Bison Defense But Not So Good For Wyoming Wolves

I was dozing off yesterday after work when I was awakened to a surprising announcement on the news. A moratorium on the Yellowstone bison slaughter is being demanded, not only by the Buffalo Field Campaign but by large national organizations such as the Humane Society. This is great news folks! That means people all across the nation are fed up with this brutal, unnecessary bison management practice. People are paying attention. I'm still not optimistic that things will change but I am overwhelmed with joy that so many people care about the plight of the buffalo-there is hope in numbers. (Over 1600 bison have been killed so far this season.)


On a disturbing note now, I report on the plight of our very recently delisted gray wolves. Only one has been killed in Montana. I think it was after livestock. I haven't heard anything about Idaho yet. However, in Wyoming at least 10 wolves have been killed. Keep in mind that over most of the state wolves are able to be shot on sight with no permit or liscence required. Only around Yellowstone wolves are classified as trophy game and there will be a designated hunting season established. But why wait for wolf hunting season when you can hang out at the "shoot-on-sight" boundary line and kill the wolves as they cross this invisible line? Hunters have been hanging out doing just that. There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to happen. Wolf defenders tried hard to prevent this from happening but to no avail. These hunters are making big news in local papers. They make it seem like such a fun time to go out killing these wolves for fun. Even wolves that are not even attacking livestock. Wyoming will not be satisfied until all wolves are exterminated.

Photos: both are from NPS archives