Pronghorn reintroduction San Diego County
- Thread starter D16hunter
- Start date
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Don't think that if it came to fruition that it would work here, too many man made barriers, pronghorn cant do fences and barriers...
I was at the SCI auction in San Diego about 18 years ago when they talked about introducing a herd of elk to our local mountains..........
I'd be curious to hear what part of San Diego they were looking to reintroduce them.
I'd be curious to hear what part of San Diego they were looking to reintroduce them.
I agree with Fred. While antelope are capable of jumping fences they almost never do. Their body is not designed to jump efficiently like deer and other ungulate. They are built for speed. In fact their heart, lungs and windpipe are much larger than other ungulate by body weight scale.
Here is a little piece taken from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and parks website:
Antelope seem to prefer to go under, not over fences. Low wire or woven wire fences can stop antelope in their tracks or they will run along them. In fact, the antelope's reluctance to jump has led many to believe they can't jump, a perception that really gets wildlife biologists going.
Here's what a couple of FWP wildlife observers say on the topic.
"I hear tell that antelope in Texas or somewhere in the south routinely jump fences," said Joel Peterson FWP wildlife manager in the Bozeman office. "I don't know if that's a fact, but that's what I've heard. I have also observed antelope jump fences in Montana."
Peterson says while he's seen antelope in Montana jump, they usually don't. He wonders if learned behavior plays a part. "All I know is, they are certainly capable of it," he said.
Thomas Litchfield, FWP's wildlife biologist in White Sulphur Springs says, "It seems to be more psychological than physical...they simply didn't evolve having to jump."
"Though they can jump, they usually don't in FWP Region 4," Litchfield said. "It's not a question of state boundaries, but of how many fences are in the area, for how long and what type of fences the pronghorn have been exposed to." A few fences on a range may not be enough exposure to fences to get them to jump."
Litchfield believes that pronghorns that learn they can jump should have a survival advantage over those that won't. And, in time, there may be more "jumpers" in the population.
He went on to tell the story of a very tired pronghorn buck in the White Sulphur Springs area that he was chasing on foot. The antelope had a large ball of baling twine caught on one horn along with about 20 feet of barbed wire trailing from it. This antelope cleared a 48-inch barbed wire fence from a standstill. "Fortunately for the antelope, he jumped into an uncut alfalfa field where the trailing barbed wire provided enough "drag" that I and a companion could catch him and get the horn freed from the debris."
It might just take the antelope time. After all, Montana's prairies have been fenced over the course of only the past 100 to 150 years, while these creatures have been evolving over millions of years.
So what's the final word? Have you seen Montana antelope jump or not? Let us know.
Email your comments to [email protected] or mail them to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Conservation Education, Attn: Antelope Question, PO Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701.
[/i]
Here is a little piece taken from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and parks website:
Antelope seem to prefer to go under, not over fences. Low wire or woven wire fences can stop antelope in their tracks or they will run along them. In fact, the antelope's reluctance to jump has led many to believe they can't jump, a perception that really gets wildlife biologists going.
Here's what a couple of FWP wildlife observers say on the topic.
"I hear tell that antelope in Texas or somewhere in the south routinely jump fences," said Joel Peterson FWP wildlife manager in the Bozeman office. "I don't know if that's a fact, but that's what I've heard. I have also observed antelope jump fences in Montana."
Peterson says while he's seen antelope in Montana jump, they usually don't. He wonders if learned behavior plays a part. "All I know is, they are certainly capable of it," he said.
Thomas Litchfield, FWP's wildlife biologist in White Sulphur Springs says, "It seems to be more psychological than physical...they simply didn't evolve having to jump."
"Though they can jump, they usually don't in FWP Region 4," Litchfield said. "It's not a question of state boundaries, but of how many fences are in the area, for how long and what type of fences the pronghorn have been exposed to." A few fences on a range may not be enough exposure to fences to get them to jump."
Litchfield believes that pronghorns that learn they can jump should have a survival advantage over those that won't. And, in time, there may be more "jumpers" in the population.
He went on to tell the story of a very tired pronghorn buck in the White Sulphur Springs area that he was chasing on foot. The antelope had a large ball of baling twine caught on one horn along with about 20 feet of barbed wire trailing from it. This antelope cleared a 48-inch barbed wire fence from a standstill. "Fortunately for the antelope, he jumped into an uncut alfalfa field where the trailing barbed wire provided enough "drag" that I and a companion could catch him and get the horn freed from the debris."
It might just take the antelope time. After all, Montana's prairies have been fenced over the course of only the past 100 to 150 years, while these creatures have been evolving over millions of years.
So what's the final word? Have you seen Montana antelope jump or not? Let us know.
Email your comments to [email protected] or mail them to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Conservation Education, Attn: Antelope Question, PO Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701.
[/i]
