Winter Visitor in Leadore

Okay, no carcasses this time. Just an old mule deer doe with the maze-running skills of a champion lab rat. We looked out the kitchen window one afternoon and she had worked her way past Bob’s gauntlet of fence panels toward the prize: the bird feeder. Once at the center of the puzzle, she has to avoid the guy wires that prevent the post from falling over. But the reward comes as she inhales the fallen millet and sunflower seeds. Problem is, it doesn’t stop there. She has been known to knock the bird feeder clear off and stomp on it.

We were careful not to go outside the house or let the dogs out while she was inside, lest she panic and hurt herself. Bob actually thought he had her outfoxed with this assembly, but no. Next day he had to improve it, which has finally done the trick. No soup for you, Muley! Bird food is for birds, chipmunks, Ratatosk the squirrel, voles and deer mice. I know, I know: we are already working on a better design so this doesn’t happen next winter. We need a taller, sturdier post that will put the feeder out of reach of a deer on its hind legs. Or something.

Next day: Outside and pissed off about it! 

Severe winter causes big die-off of big game in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming

The never-ending winter in the Northern Rockies hits deer, elk, moose, pronghorn hard-

During the winter, I made a number of posts about the hard conditions for ungulates in the Northern Rockies. The failure of spring to arrive is causing deaths to continue and grow.

Record wildlife die-offs reported in Northern Rockies. Reuters. By Laura Zuckerman.

Idaho Fish and Game feeding wildife in SE Idaho

Elk, deer, and pronghorn being fed since January 1-

Idaho Fish and Game doesn’t like to feed, but deep snow and frozen snow after a melt has prompted off and on feeding.  Some of it is to keep the wild animals away from farms.

Idaho Fish and Game news release.

Deer prions could jump to humans, study says

Currently Chronic Wasting Disease does not infect humans, but . . .

Chronic wasting disease is spreading more and more widely.  Our anti-conservation friends in the Department of Livestock and the various anti-wolf groups worry about brucellosis and dog tapeworms, but here is something that would be truly terrifying. Prions jumped from sheep probably to cows to cause “mad cow disease.”  Then it jumped to humans.  Scientists worry the same could happen to the prions that destroy the brains of deer, elk, and moose and remain in the soil, infectious, for so long it might as well be forever.

Deer prions could jump, study says. Scientists fear chronic wasting disease protein could spawn new human illness. By John Fauber of the Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Winter takes toll on northeastern Montana wildlife

Pronghorn and mule deer hit hard-

Winter takes a toll on northeastern Montana wildlife. By Brett French. Billings Gazette.

I posted a news release from ID Fish and Game the other day about winter conditions and wildlife in Eastern Idaho, but hardly anyone read it.  I took it down. I’ll watch this one to see if there is a true lack of  interest in the subject.

MT Fish, Wildlife Parks aerial survey shows increase in Bitterroot mule deer

Result might be due to change in hunting rules-

Eyes in the sky: FWP aerial survey counts Bitterroot deer on the ground. By Perry Backus. Ravalli Republic.

The figures look good.

Elk numbers said to be down . . . is it really wolves?

How about slob hunters?

The story below has been getting a lot of attention.

Wolves, Elk, and Slob-Hunting. What’s a bigger threat to elk: wolves or slob-hunters? By Matt Skoglund, Guest Writer in New West. 12-17-10

With in the condition of the economy and the traditional lack of wildlife ethics in some areas, I think we have to also add flat-out poaching.  For example, when they say “elk numbers have plunged in the West Fork of the Bitteroot, it must wolves,” how about an investigation of the number of convicted poachers in the Bitterroot Valley too.  Before you settle on an answer, a smart person considers all the possible reasonable answers.

– – – –

And here is a related story from Montana’s Madison Valley. In the Hunt: (Slob) Hunters play wolf blame game. by Nick Gevock.  mtstandard.com |

Montana elk hunters around Yellowstone Park have a generally successful season

Madison Valley most successful.  Number of deer killed down slightly-

Elk hunters successful in 2010. Bozeman Chronicle. By Daniel Person.

In addition hunting was good in Northwestern Montana. Here’s the story. Ideal conditions close hunt season. By JIM MAN. The Daily Inter Lake Daily.

Weather helps western Montana hunters close out big game season. Missoulian.

All the articles say it was the great weather for bringing the elk down where they could be more easily found.  However, I thought wolves had nearly destroyed the elk herds.  I guess good weather can actually perform a resurrection (or show what bullshit the wolves-have-killed-everything is).

Colorado outfitter fined $40,000

Veteran guide gets a big fine for illegal deer hunting with clients-

Outfitter fined nearly $40,000 for illegal hunting. By The Denver Post.

Does anyone have much knowledge of the “Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact” mentioned in the article?

Poaching level surprises Oregon wildlife managers

A reason for the decline in mule deer in Oregon?

The study that found this wasn’t looking for poaching per se. It simply emerged as a very major cause of death.

Good to get this out there before wolves are blamed. There are only about 20 wolves in Oregon so far. Already the article mentioned them.

Poaching level surprises Oregon wildlife managers. AP

There were 500 radio collared mule deer in the study. The study period was 5 years. The study was between Bend and south to the CA border. A total of 128 deer died during the 5 years. Poachers got 19, legal hunters got 21, cougar got 15,8 died when hit by vehicles, disease felled 5, 4 got into non-vehicle accidents (such as entanglement in fences). 51 died of unknown causes, which would have put more into each of the previous categories.

Opinion: Wolf is unique in maintaining ecosystem health

“There were 16 percent more elk in the northern Rockies in 2009 than there were in 1995 when wolves were reintroduced.” Kirk Robinson. Western Wildlife Conservancy.

This is an interesting opinion piece. Wolf is unique in maintaining ecosystem health.  By Kirk Robinson. Salt Lake Tribune.

2010 Wyoming big game hunting prospects look great

Rocky Mountains Elk Foundation’s CEO David Allen’s annoying hysteria about wolves causing the “biggest wildlife management disaster since the 19 Century buffalo slaughter” is discredited-

2010 Big Game hunting forecast. By Christine Peterson. Casper Star-Tribune staff writer trib.com. Posted at the trib: Thursday, August 26

First wolf killed in SE Idaho

While the headline is not accurate, it is gratifying to see a wolf in Franklin Basin-

A sheepherder killed a wolf in the Bear River Range, east of Franklin, Idaho. This is right on the Idaho/Utah border and is certainly good news for wolves traveling south. I have had reports of wolves in the Franklin Basin area for ten years now. To avoid putting those killer radio collars on them, I have not reported them.

The headline in the story below (Idaho Statesman) is wrong. The body of the story below in fact indicates that. A wolf was shot by a Pocatello man back in 2003 in SE Idaho near Weston, Idaho, also right on the Utah border, but one mountain range to the west of this. That was in the foothills of the Bannock Range.

Wolf killed in Franklin Basin. Idaho Statesman. Note that there is a longer story in the Idaho State Journal (Pocatello), but it is not on line.

For those familiar with scenic Franklin Basin, they know it is overrun by domestic sheep.  I have been going there since I was a boy and the Logan (UT) Ranger District just lets it get worse and worse, harming recreation, scenery, and especially elk and deer habitat.  The Basin is mostly reduced to dust by mid-summer and inedible forbs like western coneflower and tall larkspur.  If folks would donate to the Western Watersheds Project, it should be known they have the goods on this disgusting situation and will sue their sorry butts.

Here is a photo of a nice spot in the Idaho portion of Franklin Basin.

Is it legal to hunt Idaho wildlife by honing in on radio collars?

Yes, according to the IDFG.

Over on a popular, unnamed anti-wolf website there has been discussion of using radio receivers to track and hunt wolves and the frequencies of the radio collars on them so I asked the IDFG about this. I sent them the exchanges which have taken place there and, specifically, I asked “I would like to know if there is any language which prohibits the practice of hunting wolves, elk, or deer with the aid of radio tracking.”

The reply I received from Jon Heggen, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau for the Idaho Department of Fish & Game:

There is currently no prohibition against the use of radio tracking equipment for the taking of big game.

Radio collar frequencies are considered [just] a trade secret and therefore their disclosure is exempt from Idaho’s public records law.

The problem is that the radio collars frequencies are not a secret. A quick search of documents obtained through public records requests does reveal radio frequencies of wolves and it is common practice to give ranchers receivers with the frequencies of collared wolves. Are we to believe, that with the animosity towards wolves and, frankly, other wildlife, that this information will remain only in the hands of those with the authority to have it?

This is not only a problem with wolves. There are hundreds of elk, deer, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, wolverines and many other species that are burdened by radio devices. It appears, based on my question and the answer given, that there is a gaping hole in wildlife protection that needs to be filled legislatively or through the commission. Is the state legislature or IDFG Commission going to fill this hole as quickly as they do when the profits of the livestock industry or outfitting industry are threatened or are they going to scoff it off because it might result in the death of a few more wolves and possibly other species?

Is the idea of “fair chase” a thing of the past?

Stimulus funds for Wyoming wildlife underpasses denied by feds

Although proven to work, WY high value wildlife crossing projects failed to get funding-

Ambitious Wyo big game underpass plan takes hit. By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau

It is especially sad to see pronghorn crossing projects at Trapper’s Point near Pinedale denied. This bottleneck is a huge threat to the semi-annual, thousands-of-year-old trek of pronghorn to Jackson Hole and the Tetons from the Red Desert and back.

A new tick-borne disease

Here is something more for our tapeworm-fearing friends to worry about, though it’s doubtful they will-

Emerging Tick-Borne Disease. ScienceDaily

Chronic wasting disease claims 1st Utah elk

Brain disease is already established in Utah deer-

Utah’s large moose population seems to be free of this spongiform encephalopathy so far.

Chronic wasting disease claims 1st Utah elk.  By Brett Prettyman. The Salt Lake Tribune

Scotland’s deer are changing shape due to hybridisation

Scotland’s wild red deer have bred with Japanese sika deer, serving to reduce their size-

Red deer are similar to American elk, wapiti. Ironically a concern in the U.S. is red deer from “hunting” ranches escaping to breed with elk.

Scotland’s deer are changing shape due to hybridisation. By Jody Bourton. Earth News reporter. BBC

Are more deer killed on Utah roadways than by hunters?

Both seem to be around 20,000 a year, but the road kill number is less exact-

Females are 72% of the road kill. Human fatalities are 4 – 6 a year

Roadkill threat: Utah deer herds taking a hit. It’s possible that more of the animals are killed by vehicles than hunters. By Brent Prettyman. Salt Lake Tribune

The Urban Deerslayer

NYT says more urban folks learning to hunt for safe, low carbon-impact meat-

The Urban Deerslayer. By Sean Patrick Farrell. New York Times.

Fewer and fewer people have been learning to hunt, to the dismay of many. Hunting is generaly taught as part of a family tradition or with young friends while growing up.

The article writes of what might be an unexpected source of new hunters — urban adults who want a more honest connection to their food and/or worry about the hormones, fat, and other contaminants of factory farmed beef and pork.

My personal belief is that unless you have killed and eaten an animal, caught and gutted a fish, you don’t understand the value of meat. You don’t understand the difficulty getting high quality protein, nor what much of human history has been like.

Much of Eastern United States is overrun with whitetailed deer due to environmental changes that have lifted natural restraints on deer populations. Some urbanites are well situated to shoot a deer.

There should be a word of warning, however. First, if you can’t shoot your deer locally — if you travel many miles — your meat acquisition does not save a lot energy. Secondly, if the deer graze contaminated zones, the meat might not be safe. Third, bullets fragment. If you use lead bullets, there will be lead in your venison.  Use of ground venison maximizes the amount of lead. The type of bullet makes a big difference. Lead shotgun slugs and encased (jacketed) lead bullets leave the fewest fragments. If you hit large bone, there will be more fragmentation. Best, use copper bullets or go bowhunting.

Work progresses on wildlife overpass near Elko, Nevada

Stimulus funds being used to solve high vehicle/ungulate collision area on US 93, north of Wells-

Story on wildlife overpass. Las Vegas Sun

Mule deer gores Colorado woman

Motorist saves woman as she was being stomped by the buck-

Florissant, Colorado area deer gores woman who tried to pet it. By Daniel Petty. The Denver Post

More trouble for deer. Endocrine-disrupting compounds make weird genitals

Bitterroot Valley resident tracks growing deformities by examining road kill-

New West has a story today about the likely effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on deer.  Bitterroot Rebel With a Cause. Genetic, Genital Damage in Montana Wildlife? (bad link is now fixed). By Joan Melcher. New West.

Almost half of the bucks had structural abnormalities.

Cause of spread of “mad elk”, “mad deer” disease found

It’s in their droppings, and the infectious prions never go away!

Really, really bad news about chronic wasting disease.  Study Spells Out Spread of Brain Illness in Animals. By Sandra Blakeslee. New York Times.

“Dr. Aiken said prions tended to bind to clay in soil and to persist indefinitely. When deer graze on infected dirt, prions that are tightly bound to clay will persist for long periods in their intestinal regions. So there is no chance chronic wasting disease will be eradicated, he said. Outside the laboratory, nothing can inactivate prions bound to soil. They are also impervious to radiation.” [emphasis mine]

Update. Here is the link to the abstract in Nature

New Update: Wyoming boosts CWD survey. This season, more state and federal agents will take samples from hunters’ deer and elk. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

ID Fish and Game/outfitter ad campaign to drive hunters from Idaho yields success

Survey of non-resident hunters shows perception of wolf impact biggest factor in not buying elk tags-

As early as nine years ago, Idaho elk outfitters begin to tell the world that wolves had killed almost all the elk in the state. For the last two years Idaho Fish and Game Department honchos have joined in.

Today in an article* in Pocatello’s Idaho State Journal by Cody Bloomsburg, discovered an ID F & G survey of 2600 non-residents told that of those who did not return this year for an Idaho elk tag, 28 % blamed wolves, 13% blamed the recent non-resident fee increase, and just over 11% the bad economy.

This is the second year in a row that non-resident elk tag sales have declined (25% in 2008). A likely hypothesis is that the negative advertising barrage by the outfitters was not as effective as the ID Fish and Game officials following orders to poor mouth the state’s elk and deer prospects. ID Fish & Game did not begin to bemoan the supposed effect of wolves until two years ago.

The actual effect of wolves on Idaho elk populations is hard to measure. It is suspected that wolves are depressing or suppressing elk numbers in just two of Idaho’s 29 hunt areas. Most recently the Idaho elk population was estimated by Idaho Fish & Game elk surveys at 103,160 animals, at or slightly above the statewide objective.

– – – – –

*The article by Bloomsburg is not on-line.

Wyoming moose numbers are far below Game and Fish objective

Deer and bighorn are down too. Pronghorn and elk doing well-

Moose © Ken Cole

Recently we ran the story how well Wyoming’s supposedly beleaguered elk population was doing. Every herd in the state was above Fish and Game objectives.

It’s a different story for moose, which are only at 44% of objective. We ran a story how the moose were starving and suffering from climate change in NW Wyoming. Bighorn would do better if some domestic sheep allotments on public land were closed.

State moose numbers fall short of target. Mule deer count is also below goals, but antelope are going strong, Game and Fish survey shows. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Democrat Gulch, Big Wood River Watershed

5/17/09

© Brian Ertz 2009

Nevada deer herds down; other species doing well

Loss of habitat and drought to blame, according to article-

NV deer herds down; other species doing well. By Sandra Chereb. Associated Press Writer

Why We Need Wolves In Our Parks

. . . and about “the Ripple Effect.”

Why We Need Wolves In Our Parks. Todd Palmer and Rob Pringle. The Huffington Post.

Overkill?

Wolf experts say predators rarely indulge in surplus killing, but Orofino man who logs extensive time in Idaho’s backcountry is not convinced

Here is an article which discusses the “surplus killing” that all wolves must be doing. In reality it is a myth that is hard wired in many of those in anti-wolf crowd along with the myth about the 250 lb wolf and the “fact” that the Canadian wolves are larger than the wolves which previously inhabited the Northern Rockies.

Wolf experts say predators rarely indulge in surplus killing, but Orofino man who logs extensive time in Idaho’s backcountry is not convinced 
By Eric Barker / The Lewiston Tribune

Montana FWP study finds mixed impacts of wolves on ungulate populations

Finally, a real study, and released to the public-

Not surprisingly (to me anyway) the effect of wolves on elk populations varies by area and presence of other predators such as grizzly bears. In addition hunters affect elk more than wolves. When considering wolves and ungulates alone, I take this report to be generally quite positive for the effects of wolves on ungulates.

Here is the news release, but there is the much larger report available to for those interested. Here is the 90+ page full report. Ralph Maughan

Added. Notice how the MSM immediately gives the results of this an immediate spin by means of the headline. Wolves tied to elk decline in parts of state. By EVE BYRON – Independent Record

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – FEBRUARY 6, 2008
Contact Ron Aasheim, 406-444-4038; Justin Gude, 406-444-3767; or visit FWP’s Web site
at fwp.mt.gov

Study Finds Mixed Wolf Impacts On Elk Populations-
Not all elk populations respond in the same manner when faced with sharing the landscape with wolves, a new report by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks suggests.

Researchers who spent the past seven years measuring the populations and behavior of elk in Montana found that elk numbers in some areas of southwestern Montana have dropped rapidly due mostly to the loss of elk calves targeted by wolves and grizzly bears that inhabit the same area. The same study, led by FWP and Montana State University, also suggests that in some areas of western Montana elk numbers have increased while hunter-harvests of elk have decreased, with little apparent influence by local wolf packs on elk numbers.

“One-size-fits-all explanations of wolf-elk interactions across large landscapes do not seem to exist,” said Justin Gude, FWP’s chief of wildlife research in Helena.
The 95-page report contains two sections. The first section summarizes research efforts in the Greater Yellowstone Area and southwestern Montana, with a primary focus on wolf-elk interactions. The second section summarizes FWP data collection and monitoring efforts from the entire range of wolves in Montana.

Webcams capture success of deer underpasses

Some good results on US 30 in Southwestern Wyoming-

Webcams show deer quickly using new underpasses– By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune. Southwest Wyoming bureau.

Over 800 deer have already used the underpasses. Other animals too.

Good news for NW Wyoming elk? Agency finds no further chronic wasting disease in Star Valley

Infected moose may have been an anomaly-

Wyoming’s ungulates herds in NW Wyoming, including Yellowstone Park may have dodged the CWD bullet for now.

Wyoming Game and Fish may still have a short time to do away with wintertime elk feeding. Of course, they won’t.

Story: Good news for elk? Agency finds no further chronic wasting disease in Star Valley. By Chris Merrill. Casper Star Tribune.

A cougar again on Idaho State University campus (Pocatello, ID)

This winter begins like last with cougars on campus-

The cougars haven’t harmed anyone, but, of course, their presence on campus worries people.

The following announcement came over Idaho State University email Nov. 4.

Idaho Fish and Game officials have set a cougar trap on campus after a possible sighting Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 4.  The trap is set in the area of the sighting, above the jogging trail on Red Hill above Davis Field.  Public Safety is advising people to be careful in the secluded areas of campus between  Red Hill, the cemetery and other areas.

Any sightings should immediately be reported to ISU Public Safety at 282-2515.

Cougars were in other parts of Pocatello last winter.

Why?

I have a pretty good idea. If you travel to the Caribou National Forest and the BLM lands that directly adjoin the city, with the exception of a “beauty zone” along Mink Creek, these public lands have been increasing abused by livestock grazing. There is little for the deer to eat, they come into town (indeed they sleep next to my house) where there is some pretty good forage. Of course the cougars follow.

I am increasingly of the view that we need a major push at change on range on these public lands. If any friends in Pocatello, Chubbuck or Inkom want to help with bringing grazing under control on your public land please contact me. Ralph Mauighan rmaughan2@cableone.net

How did moose get CWD? Star Valley deer, elk likely have the disease as well.

Damn!! In the Greater Yellowstone and on the Idaho border-

How did moose get CWD? Star Valley deer, elk likely have the disease as well. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Maybe Idaho should sue Wyoming for wildlife malpractice?

Whitetailed deer spread southward into Utah

In Utah. Whitetail deer influx brings mixed reaction.

Officials worry about impact on mule deer; others excited to see new species. By Brett Prettyman. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Mule deer are more susceptible to land use changes than whitetails, putting muleys at a disadvantage.

Montana Elk, deer prospects look good this year

This won’t impress most of that fraction of hunters who have decided that wolves have killed off the elk populations of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, but most years I have put up articles like this.

From the Missoulian. Montana Elk, deer prospects look good this year. By Michael Jamison.

Mad elk disease heads toward Wyoming’s elk feedgrounds

We have been writing about his since 2006 on this blog. Recently, I linked to a site I named “How Now, Mad Cow“on my blogroll. RM

Mysterious, fatal disease bound for elk feedgrounds. A cousin of mad cow, chronic wasting disease is a worry for Jackson Hole’s wildlife economy. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Winter Kill in Idaho

The long winter has had an effect on ungulate populations in Idaho so hunting permits, especially moose permits, will be reduced so as not to effect the populations as much for the coming winter.

Winter Kill in Idaho
KPVI TV – Pocatello, Idaho

Be Sure to watch the attached video as well as it contains more information than is in the article.

Dale Toweill, Fish & Game Wildlife Manager: “This has been an unusual year. The winter was not especially tough. The problem with over winter survival is more how long the winter lasts.”

This is a story which follows an IDFG press release from June 2.

Long Winter Hurts Big Game Survival

Underpasses for deer built on U.S. 30 northwest of Kemmerer, WY

The Wyoming Range’s deer herd is not doing well. A lot of deer are killed on the highway. This is an fairly ambitious effort to reduce highway mortality. I’ve had some close calls on U.S. 30, and I don’t drive it very often.

Taking the low road. By JEFF GEARINO. Southwest Wyoming bureau. Casper Star Tribune.

Wyoming Range deer survey reaps grim results

[Suvery coordinator Gray] “Fralick said there’s ‘no doubt the poor habitat conditions on this winter range contributed a great deal” to this year’s high death rate.’ ”

Deer survey reaps grim results. By Jeff Geario. Casper Star Tribune.

Many things contribute to big game deaths

Ticks, starvation – lots of things kill ungulates in Idaho :

Biologists track carcases in  E. Idaho river – The Olympian

It will be interesting to see whether any anti-predator group sends out an alert about the vicious ticks devastating game species in Idaho.  Perhaps we’ll see some grandstanding about the need to control the hard winter at the next commissioner meeting ?

Lead bullets taint game meat

Lead is toxic everywhere else, why would it be any different in bullets ? That’s not enough to keep some from being skeptical about the anti-lead people’s agenda :

Study: Lead bullets taint game meat – Rocky Barker Idaho Statesman

The side-bar has interesting information on lead spreading in deer

Central Idaho elk and deer doing fine in presence of wolves

Dr. Jim Peek presented data at the Chico wolf conference showing that the elk and deer population is doing fine in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. He examined population and hunter success trends in 4 key hunting units before and after wolf restoration.

Currently there are 105-119 wolves in the 4 units, which he believes is the maximum number that will naturally occur.

Overall, elk harvest is nearly stable with a slight upward trend in recent years. Mule deer harvest has increased more dramatically, perhaps the result of the many recent forest fires that have resulted in a proliferation of browse,

In the individual units, elk population is declining on one, increasing on one, with no trend in the other two.

Peek predicted a future decline in the most remote areas because of an overabundance of old, non-productive cow elk, and relatively few bull elk due to human hunting effects (few hunters will pack in 2 to 4 days to shoot an old cow elk, but they will for a bull elk). He speculated that the future elk decrease in the deep backcountry would be greater if wolf populations are reduced because old cows are what the wolves target — average age 13 years.

In the one front country unit (the Salmon Face, unit 28), the present and future seem bright because the cow elk are younger and the cow/calf ratio higher. Hunters there do go after cow elk because it does not take the time to get into that country.

Overall, the wolves have had little effect on elk or deer population size. The important factors are wildfires (57% of the area has burned since 1982), summer drought or adequate rainfall, and winter severity. Wolves can potentially suppress population rebound following a severe winter, especially in the frontcountry unit, although he presented no evidence that this has actually happened.

Young man with cell phone camera catches Pocatello area poachers

This is a local story (I live in Pocatello and know the field where this incident took place).

This was a brave young man (the way he confronted poachers in the act of poaching). It also shows the uses of technology in controlling poaching and similar outdoor violations.

A longer version of this story appeared in the Idaho State Journal, but it is not on-line. Associated Press story.

Blaine County ORV enthusiasts blame wolves to prevent BLM closures in wintering habitat

Off-road ‘enthusiasts’ (snowmobiles) expressed their disdain for a “Blaine County Cooperative Conservation Recreation and Travel Plan” which would close BLM and state big game wintering habitat to both motorized and non-motorized recreationists on either side of the Wood River Valley “only when harsh winter conditions warrant.”

Motorized users express outrage over BLM travel plan
Snowmobiles don’t harm wintering big game, they claim :

On Wednesday, many of these speakers said the only negative impact on wintering deer and elk is the area’s growing gray wolf population. They claimed snowmobiles do not harm deer or elk in any way.

This ‘wolves as whipping-boy’ phenomenon is growing.

I’ve got extended family in West Yellowstone that compelled me to write this personal anecdotal account of snowmobiles’ general affect on me last year. Whatever a person’s take on snowmachines is, to say that they don’t disturb wildlife is … less than honest …

Idaho elk, deer survival rate high despite growing wolf population

Idaho elk, deer survival rate high despite growing wolf population. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman.

The survival rate for radio collared deer and elk females was over 85% and it increased in 2007 over 2006 despite the growing wolf population.

Update:

The same piece, with some editing and anecdote the day after.

Elk, deer survival high despite prowling wolves. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman. Edition 01/01/08

be

Only one wolf illegally shot in the recent Wisconsin deer hunt

Department of Natural Resources says only one wolf shot during deer hunt. By Robert Imrie. Associated Press writer in the Appleton Post-Crescent.

It wasn’t even a wolf; it was a hybrid.

It is true the wolves are much better accepted in the Great Lakes States than in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming.

Idaho big game outlook: Expect stable deer and elk populations this year

Big game outlook: Expect stable deer and elk populations this year. By Roger Phillips. Idaho Statesman. This is a detailed look for all the areas of the state of Idaho.

If wolves were destroying Idaho’s elk and deer population, the populations should be declining. In fact, they should be declining at an increasing rate as the wolf population has grown.

“Antelope, deer decimating Wyoming’s ‘sagebrush sea'”

As folks know, including the government of Wyoming, which fears a sage grouse listing under the ESA, large continuous areas of sagebrush steppe are in big trouble.

It is fascinating how they blame wolves wolves for too few elk and then say there are too many antelope and deer and they need to have a big hunt to decrease their numbers.

Aren’t these overgrazed sagebrush lands described in the article grazed by cattle and/or sheep as well as deer and antelope?

The one constant in Wyoming politics is ranching and minerals come first, and wildlife gets what’s left except it always gets the blame.

Story “Antelope, deer decimating Wyoming’s ‘sagebrush sea‘” By Jennifer Frazer. Rocky Mountain News.

Note I borrowed the headline from “Headwaters News.’

Waiting for Frost: Bluetongue Appears in Montana Livestock and Wildlife

BE posted about this earlier.

Here we have yet another livestock disease threatening wildlife. Bluetongue hit north central Idaho deer hard a couple years ago. Hard frost will kill the insects that spread it.
Waiting for Frost: Bluetongue Appears in Montana Livestock and Wildlife.  New West. Kisha Lewellyn Schlege

There’s plenty of game out there in Idaho this season — you just need to find it

There’s plenty of game out there this season — you just need to find it. By Roger Phillips. Idaho Statesman.

I guess this contradicts, “the-wolves-have-killed-all-the-game story” told by unsuccessful hunters. Of course, every year more and more ride ATVs up and down the roads and the trails looking for a shot. I suppose the folks who do this think that elk, deer, pronghorn, etc. can no longer hear very well.

post 1538

Male Deer Are Born To Live Fast, Die Young

Male Deer Are Born To Live Fast, Die Young. From Science Daily. Based on the academic article Juan Carranza and F. Javier Pérez-Barbería, “Sexual selection and senescence: male size-dimorphic ungulates evolved relatively smaller molars than females”, The American Naturalist (2007) volume 170:370–380. DOI: 10.1086/519852.

Are prey hard-wired to fear predators?

Preliminary data about predators and large ungulates indicates that fear is learned rather than inherent, although not all scientists agree.

Story: Are prey hard-wired to fear predators? By Brodie Farquhar. Casper Star-Tribune

Idaho Fish and Game may curb hunting in burned areas

Wildlife took a beating in the Murphy Complex and other rangefires. The article says it may take 30 years to restore the sage grouse habitat. Giving the increasing incidence or rangefires, however, it is hard to imagine 30 years will pass before it burns again.

Unlike forest fires the flames moved so fast that a number of elk, deer and even antelope might have perished when they could not escape. Story in the Times News. Fish and Game may curb hunting in burned areas. By Matt Christensen
Times-News writer.

Note that the Murphy Complex is now about contained at just short of 700,000 acres

Governor: Feed grounds necessary in Wyoming

Freudenthal is gearing up to defend the indefensible, — Wyoming’s winter elk feed grounds, the continued source of brucellosis transmission in elk and the place where chronic wasting disease will first show up in the Greater Yellowstone elk and deer.

If you are going, defend something so wrong, it might just pay off to say just the opposite is true. He does. “Feed grounds are a vital part of the state’s elk management and brucellosis strategy and will be a part of that strategy for the foreseeable future.” That’s what he said in Jackson, WY on Monday.

By defending the feed grounds as vital in preventing transmission of brucellosis, he can then accuse the wolves who come to the feed grounds to hunt in the winter just as naturally as bears come to backyard birdfeeders, as something menacing that needs to be killed. In fact the feedgrounds is one of the two major reasons for the proposed new 10j rule that will be argued in Cody tonight. The new 10j would allow the states to kill wolves if the wolves if they are a major cause preventing the state from meeting “herd objectives,” a term that the Federal Register says means the movements of herds, not just desired population size.

Freudenthal then gives the real reason for the pro-feedground, anti-wolf policy. The Jackson Hole News and Guide writes, “Freudenthal said the only thing that could possibly reduce the state’s dependence on supplemental feeding programs would be significant state investment to secure more wintering habitat for the animals.” [emphasis mine]. However, he said winter range would be too expensive to buy.

He is right, but not the way it seems. Wyoming state government is rolling in money from the mass industrialization of state for gas development. They have plenty of money to buy the land, but the political support for it isn’t there with a governor like him.

The expense the governor is talking about then, is political. To eliminate the feedgrounds, he would have to oppose the influential, old guard ranchers who have for a century, opposed using the successful method of Idaho and Montana — use natural winter range for wintering wildlife.

In Wyoming, it takes a lot of courage to oppose the old guard ranchers, and Freundenthal will allow disease to spread and the wolves south of Yellowstone to be killed because he has no courage. That’s what the wolf killing program is about.

Story: Governor: Feed grounds necessary in Wyoming. By Noah Brenner. July 17, 2007

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More news from Wyoming where wolves have killed all the big game. Not!

Of course, wolves haven’t and these recent articles indicate. This new info is just short of incredible given all the ranting and raving by Wyoming politicians and some hunting organizations over the last ten years about how the wolf had decimated the elk.
April 26. Wyoming Game and Fish proposes additional hunting licenses to offset forage shortage. By Brodie Farquhar. Jackson Hole Star-Tribune correspondent.

The drought has greatly reduced the forage and so the number of animals needs to be reduced, but the elk and most other ungulate populations are well over objectives. Of course, the drought is not a happy situation because it will reduce the number of elk and deer, and pronghorn, but the point here is the problem is not wolves. We can imagine, however, that once drought and hunting have reduced the numbers, wolves will be blamed for the reduced numbers.

May 12. Wyoming Game and Fish predicts good hunting. By Ben Neary. Casper Star Tribune. “”Elk are probably at an all-time high historically,” said Bill Rudd, assistant chief for of the wildlife division for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Cheyenne.”

New. May 17. Elk numbers soar as hunting seasons set. Wyo. population grows to 99,867 animals, 17 percent above objectives. By By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Oregon State U. “Large carnivores promote healthy ecosystems by keeping browsers on edge”

Here is a good article about the benefits of cougar populations in Zion National Park. The deer have nearly eliminated cottonwood reproduction in Zion Canyon, the main tourist attraction. It is full of people and deer. The large number of people in this congested canyon have scared away the cougar. There are a huge number of tame deer, which anyone who has been there has seen. There are no cottonwood seedlings, few flowers, and not many other species either except wild turkeys.

In nearby, unvisited canyons the biodiversity is much greater due to the indirect effects of the presence of cougar.

The hypothesis, called the “Ripple effect” is still controversial. It is named after OSU Professor William Ripple’s hypothesis that the presence of large predators creates a “landscape of fear” among ungulates, serving to keep them from eating so much in riparian zones. The improved conditions in riparian zones ripples throughout the ecoystem leading to many important secordary and third level changes.

Wolves have been reported to be having a similar effect in Yellowstone on aspen, willows, and cottonwood.

Large carnivores promote healthy ecosystems by keeping browsers on edge From Terra, the world of research at Oregon State University.

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A lot of wildlife violations at Terry, Montana

Outfitter denies wildlife charges. By Billings Gazette Staff. The outfitter was cited for illegally killing and arranging transport of 11 mule deer bucks.

Terry man accused of killing eagles. By Billings Gazette Staff. Another man has been charged with killing 3 golden eagles.

I had never heard of Terry, Montana until I read this article. It is way downstream on the Yellowstone River. Link to TopoZone.

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Deadline today for comments on 4000 new gas wells on the Pinedale, WY anticline

It’s kind of sadly amusing that the article says “Today is the last chance for people to comment on a proposal for the Pinedale Anticline that would add up to 4,400 new wells in a part of Sublette County that biologists say is crucial habitat for pronghorn, sage grouse and mule deer.” [boldface mine]

As though there was a real mystery as whether this is crucial to pronghorn, sage grouse and mule deer, and it takes a biologist to figure it out.

Story in the Jackson Hole News and Guide. By Cory Hatch.

Hiking adjacent to Pocatello today

One of the great things about living in a public state, especially a serious public land state like Idaho, is the backcountry quickly available. This is uplands today at 4:30 PM above Lead Draw, a 5-minute drive from my house and a one hour hike.

Since the Sierra Club, the Pocatello Trail Machine Assn., the Forest Service, and Bannock County worked to block Lead Draw off to full-sized vehicles and ATVs, the mule deer herd has come back to the drainage. I counted 48 deer today in a 2-hour hike. Five years ago I hardly ever saw any in Lead Draw. Photo Ralph Maughan 4:13PM on 3-31-07

2006 was another good year for hunting in Idaho

Earlier I posted a very long time series of statistics on Idaho hunts.

The news for 2006 has been released, the the elk hunt figures were about the same as the last two years. Hunters tagged 20,257 elk in 2006, down slightly from 21,520 in 2005 and 20,925 in 2004. This success rate was 19.5%; generally regarded as high.

According to state big game manager, Brad Compton Idaho elk population remains at about 125,000, and has been stable over the past six or seven years.

Hunters also tagged approximately 22,000 white-tailed deer. Their population is estimated at about 200,000, and about 30,000 mule deer of a population estimated at about 300,000 statewide, and 1,525 pronghorns were tagged in 2006.

~Note: I do notice some small discrepancies with the figures above and the earlier time series, but they are small and do not change the trend (or lack of one).~

WY Game and Fish says far too many elk in herd just SW of Jackson

Here’s another elk herd in wolf country that is deemed too populous — Wyoming’s Fall Creek herd (just south and SW of Jackson)

On the other hand, there are too few mule deer in the Wyoming Range, especially the buck to doe ratio. Wolves are not tolerated in the Wyoming Range (too far south WY says).

The number of moose in the Teton Wilderness has made a comeback since a three-year closure of three hunting areas in the Wilderness was implemented. There are lots of wolves in this huge Wilderness along the south boundary of Yellowstone Park.

The point is, once again, there are many deer and elk herds inside and outside wolf country in addition to the Northern Range Yellowstone elk herd, which anti-wolf folks always point to with alarm. Hunting rules and the quality of the ungulates’ range are the major factors in the how the elk and deer are doing in terms of population.

Story- State to target Fall Creek elk herd. By Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Idaho Statewide big game harvest figures, 1935-2005

Look at these amazing details.

Look and see if you can detect the effect of wolves. Remember wolves were reintroduced in 1995. At first there were just a few, and at the end of 2005 about 600 wolves, so the evidence of their effect should increase each years after 1995.

Link to the figures.

Photos of “wolf killed” game?

Mike-S sent me a number of photos of killed elk, also a deer buck, and a bighorn ram. There were several other photos of the same event, taken from different angles and some others too small I thought to tell much at all. I didn’t put these up.

I created a special web page for the photos.

Note several “Mikes” post to this blog, and I hope they will all use a last name initial or something to distinguish themselves.

So what do folks think?

Saskatchewan and Alberta are seeing more chronic wasting disease

Officials in both provinces report that some of these cases are located in new areas – a finding that suggests that the disease may be spreading or that animals with CWD are on the move.

This story is from CP by John Cotter.

Deer in other provinces tested negative. Officials are afraid it might spread to caribou. It infects all species of North American deer, elk and moose. It kind of an ultimate nightmare which I why I keep pounding on Wyoming and the menace of its wildlife policies. The worst infections are the Eastern Wyoming and along the Front in Colorado.

Chronic wasting disease is caused by a malformed protein, called a prion, which causes other proteins to fold incorrectly too. The result is many holes the the brains of those infected. Scientifically this class of diseases is called spongiform encephalopathies.

Chronic wasting disease, unlike mad cow disease, is directly transmissible from animal to animal, one reason why crowding cervids on winter feedlots is thought by many to be especially dangerous.

Chronic Wasting Disease spreads east of Sundance, Wyoming to Muddy Gap

More bad news from Wyoming. Chronic Wasting Disease (“mad elk” and “mad deer” disease) has spread further in the state. Fortunately, it was not detected moving further west this year – toward the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

Story in the Casper Star Tribune. By Brodie Farquhar.

Feds want more WY gas wells even as deer decline

I posted this article as part of a comment yesterday, but it deserves its own post. The natural gas industry is the major threat to elk and deer in Wyoming (and, of course, chronic wasting disease). I have always thought the state’s anti-wolf rhetoric was mostly designed to divert attention away from the industialization of much of the state’s ungulate winter range.

Jackson Hole News and Guide.  “Feds want more wells even as deer decline. BLM eyes increase in drilling as study links Snow King deer to Sublette County habitat.” By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

The urban deer ‘problem’

Over on Alan Gregory’s blog there is a discussion of urban deer. It’s not just a matter of concern in the East. It’s in the West too, even including Wyoming.

 The Urban Deer ‘problem’

WyDOT, others try new ways to reduce roadkill

Teton County and other NW Wyoming areas have a tremendous problem with vehicles hitting wildlife and even vice versa, and a lot of it is larger than deer. The article below says “256 elk, moose and mule deer have been killed on roads. In addition, nine bison and one black bear were killed by cars.”

New measures are being tried such as lighted warning bulletins on the roadside and sensing devicies. One problem with the latter is false positives–a warning when no wildlife are at the roadside.

Article by Whitney Royster in the Casper Star Tribune.

Car hits deer carcass, two die

This is just another story on the animal that is the true threat to human life–deer, not wolves.

Brief story in the Denver Post. 

What Idaho Fish and Game says about the hunting season

BOTH THE GOOD AND THE BAD

A Wildlife Officer’s View of Hunting Season 2006
By George Fischer – Idaho Department of Fish and Game

For many hunters the 2006 season is winding down, yet for others the season is just beginning with whitetail rut hunts and late season elk hunts. Many bird hunters are just starting to hit the field as temperatures cool and upland birds concentrate in thicker cover. Below is a quick run down of what officers in the Grangeville area have observed this fall.

ELK – It’s been a real hit-and-miss season for elk hunters. Some have found lots of bulls and some real trophies, yet others have worked hard just to find a track. As you would expect, wolf issues have weighed heavy on many hunters though out the season. Wolves are changing elk behavior patterns and appear to be concentrating elk in small areas.

When visiting with hunters this fall, it was common to hear many hunters finding elk bunched up in small areas with many traditional hunting areas devoid of elk. Generally, back-country elk hunters found the elk moved down low early this year. Hunters have been doing great the past several years heading high for early bulls. However this fall, hunters down low had some of the better success.

DEER – Deer hunters are enjoying average success. White-tailed deer are still rebounding in lower elevations from the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) outbreak of several years ago. Does and small bucks are plentiful in most areas, but as the rut approaches the larger mature bucks will begin to show themselves more.

MOOSE – Many hunters are concerned about moose numbers in many of the local units, especially in Unit 15 and the backcountry areas. Moose herd health is on the biologist’s “radar” screen. A data check shows hunter success and antler size is about the same as it has been historically. But hunters are most concerned with the number of wolf kills they are finding and the lack of cow and calf moose observed while they pursue other game.

WILD TURKEY AND UPLAND GAME BIRDS – Turkeys continue to expand into new territory in the region with numbers increasing to stabilizing. Chukar, Hungarian partridge and quail numbers are also decent. While overall numbers are down from the glory days in the early nineties, they are up from a few years ago. Pheasant numbers are about average where you can find good cover to hold them. Forest grouse made it into a good number of stew pots this year, as numbers appeared to be a little better then average in many areas.

This fall, our officers have spent the majority of their time visiting with hunters, responding to citizen calls of poaching incidents and patrolling to detect and deter poaching. Overall, most of the hunters and anglers we contacted were having a great time and doing their best to do things right. A major enforcement check station was also conducted on Highway 95 near Riggins in which several hundred hunters were checked for law compliance. Only 28 game violations were detected. For the number of hunters that passed through the check station, officers were pleased with the overall compliance.

Unfortunately, we have also responded to several “drive by” shootings of deer on private land with several animals shot and left to rot or just shot with only the antlers taken. Like it or not, there area a visible minority out there that are destroying the hunter image. They don’t care about ethics, sustaining game populations or helping assure that the tradition of hunting continues for future generations. Most poach for bloodlust and greed.

Many hunters and non-hunting citizens alike are no longer tolerating the abuse of our local wildlife treasures. They are reporting the crimes to authorities, providing crucial information that has helped bring many poachers to justice.

Please don’t tolerate poaching, even in your friends and family. To report a wildlife violation, a phone call to your local conservation officer or sheriff’s department is often the quickest route. A call to Citizens Against Poaching 1 (800)632-5999 can assure your call is kept confidential and you may be eligible for a reward.

Some of the best hunting of the year is still to come. Please do your part to help the future of our great heritage by obeying all game laws, practicing ethical hunting and passing on the tradition by taking a youngster or new hunter afield.

George Fischer is a District Conservation Officer for IDFG stationed in Grangeville.

Deer Attacks, Kills His Owner in New York.

This is article for those folks worried about wolves killing and eating them. What’s more common than a fatal wolf attack, a deer attack! Deer Attacks, Kills His Owner in New York. AP

I know a woman in Pocatello, Idaho who was almost killed by a deer in the local zoo.

Eroded banks of the unstable Virgin River. Zion NP

The post on the lack of cougars resulting in damage to the ecology of Zion National Park has prompted a lot of comments.

I thought I’d post a photo I took of the Virgin River in Zion Canyon last March. The streambanks are trampled and bare or are calving off where the silt is deep. Some of the erosion is human, but the deer follow the human trails and vice versa.

Those high scenic photos you see of the Virgin are taken up in “The Narrows” where the walls close, leaving little riparian zone.

The eroding banks of the Virgin River in Zion Canyon. Zion NP. Photo by Ralph Maughan. March 2006

Disappearce of cougars in Zion NP has led to a general ecological decline

I always wondered why the Virgin River looked so oddly entrenched and actively eroding in Zion NP. It may be an indirect effect of the loss of the cougar. As any visitor will attest, the deer are everywhere.

Cougar predation key to ecosystem health

Western Watersheds Project saves giant junipers on remote Nevada Mountain from chaining

Story in Sun Valley on-line.

WWP keeps on beating the BLM. This time it was on remote Spruce Mountain of north central Nevada.

Chaining junipers is claimed to be a way of restoring grasslands where junipers have invaded and shaded out the grass. Of course, if the junipers are very large the notion of invasion is nonsense.

Besides the immediate ugliness of chaining, the end result is often not native grasses, but rather flammable cheatgrass invasion.

– – – – –

Today. Oct. 23. The Elko (NV) Daily Free Press has a longer story on the TRO on Spruce Mountain.

The BLM would have us believe that the objections of WWP are simply about a species (junipers) that is excessively abundant in Nevada. However, where junipers are invading (expanding their range), the trees are small, or at least much smaller. Because ancient juniper are not some threatened species doesn’t mean they should be chained. Moreover, this isn’t solid juniper, is is also broken by sagebrush (valuable winter forage for deer) and pinyon pine.

The experience of WWP is that these projects are often also portrayed as beneficial for deer or elk, but instead they become mudholes for cattle who more than make up for any new grass that grows where the junipers and pines stood. This is especially true when a water pipeline brings the cows into an area that would otherwise see only sporadic grazing. Can you imagine a 90-mile water pipeline for Nevada grazing? Somebody must have a lot of political pull.

The BLM’s argument that they are reducing the danger of catastrophic fire is a canard, an appeal to people who have no idea how far away from any town in this nearly empty landscape Spruce Mountain is. Look at the the area on TopoZone.

Reality in WY shows lie in oil and gas industry propaganda

We’ve all seen on TV and printed ads how sensitive about the land the oil industry is. They drill many wells from just one pad, avoiding surfance disturbance. If the land cannot bear any suface occupancy, they drill at an angle under it (called “directional drilling”).

Yes, they can do these things, just like it shows on the TV, but the reality in Wyoming and throughout the Rocky Mountain West, is that they don’t do it that way because it is cheaper not to, except for few showcase examples where they can take the media and politicians.

Drill pads on The Mesa (Pinedale Anticline). This is a new gas field, north of Jonah. The town of Pinedale, WY is in the lower left corner. View is to the SE. The deer population on The Mesa is way down.

Where are the animals going? By Whitney Royster, Casper Star Tribune.

Somehow, I don’t think it is drought per se. This decline was also predicted last year in a major study.

Researchers Detect CWD in Heart Muscle of Elk and White-tailed Deer

This is from a news release today from the University of Wyoming. It is interesting that the rouge prions don’t show up in in the hearts of mule deer.

There is of yet little evidence that CWD can jump from cervids to humans like mad cow did from cattle to humans. Nevertheless, I would be reluctant to eat venison from Wyoming or Colorado.

News release

How is chronic wasting disease transmitted? Probably by saliva!

No wonder this always fatal disease keeps spreading and spreading among the deer and elk of Wyoming, Colorado and into other states. A   s c a r y   p o r t e n t
It’s fortunate mad cow disease is not spread this way!

Read about it in the Jackson Hole Star Tribune. “Study pinpoints saliva“

Governor Risch wants ban on shooter elk operations

Governor Risch will only be governor until the end of December. Then the governor will be either Democrat Jerry Brady or Republican Butch Otter. Risch might be the Lt. Governor.

All three, however, seem to have now come out one way or the other against shooter operations, and I think Risch and Brady against new elk farms. I guess that is actually good news for Erin, who posts here (no new competitors). Otter is not so clear.

Here is the story in the Post Register (Idaho Falls).

Sept. 28. The Idaho Stateman has picked up on the lack of clarity on the part of gubernatorial candidate Butch Otter. Read the editorial today, “Our view: Otter still not clear on canned hunts.“

More domestic cervids loose in Idaho

This was in the Idaho Statesman. “Domesticated deer captured in eastern Idaho. Officials seek owners of animals found in Chubbuck; elk and calves from separate escape still on the loose.’ ”

Chubbuck is a suburb of Pocatello.

Wildlife on highway warning system finally gets going in Yellowstone Park

U.S. 191 that cuts through a piece of Yellowstone near its NW boundary has long been a wildlife slaughter alley (elk, moose, deer, bears, wolves, and human slaughter too). A high tech warning system was installed in 2002, but glitches kept it inoperative, and there was consideration of dismantling it. Now it has got the go ahead.

Of course it is still inoperative.

Story in the Billings Gazette by Mike Stark.

Idaho law and regulations governing domestic cervidae farms

While this is potentially a lot of reading, there is a good link to the Idaho law governing deer family (Cervidae) farms and  rules issued under the law. The link also goes to rules on importing animals. Laws and rules.