Colorado hunters kill record number of sheep

Colorado hunters kill record number of sheep

April 24, 2001

BY THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE

DENVER — Colorado hunters killed record numbers of mountain goat and Rocky Mountain sheep in 2000, according to Division of Wildlife big game harvest numbers released last week.

Moose hunters enjoyed their highest success rate since 1995, but the state’s antelope population has been reduced to a number that is at or near the Division’s population goals, meaning fewer kills than in previous years.

Hunters bagged 192 mountain goats in 2000, a success rate of 91 percent. The Division of Wildlife estimates there are roughly 1,600 mountain goats in the state. Mountain goats were introduced to the state in the 1940s and again in the 1970s from Idaho and British Columbia. Most of the increase in mountain goat harvests occurred near Georgetown in the Grey’s Peak and Torres Peak area and in the Mount Massive and Mount Elbert area, said John Ellenberger big game manager for the Division of Wildlife.

Hunters have enjoyed a steadily increasing success rate for Rocky Mountain bighorn. The year 2000 was no exception. Hunters killed 193 Rocky Mountain bighorns, a success rate of 58 percent.

"In the 1970’s, things looked grim for bighorn sheep," Ellenberger said. They have increased to about 7,500 animals from 2,200 in the early 1970’s. "It’s a real success story," Ellenberger said.

Treating sheep for pneumonia and controlling the size of herds through hunting and relocation have prevented catastrophic die-offs that reduced herds by as much as 70 percent in past years. "We’re not out of the woods," Ellenberger said. "The encroachment of development on Rocky Mountain sheep habitat is going to call for some intensive management."

At least some of the Division’s success with bighorn sheep can be attributed to the their taste for apple pulp. It turns out bighorn sheep will do almost anything for the stuff making them much easier to trap and transport. "They’ll jump right into the back of a pickup truck," Ellenberger said.

Desert bighorn sheep were restored to Colorado through transplants from Utah, Arizona and Nevada in the late 1970’s. Today, there are about 460 desert bighorn in Colorado. Hunters killed 7 in 2000, all of them rams.

"In two of the three areas where we have desert bighorn, they are doing very well," Ellenberger said. Sheep in Black Ridge, west of Colorado National Monument, are in decline, probably due to disease and predation by mountain lions.

There are approximately 60,000 antelope, also called pronghorn, in Colorado, which is about the number the Division is trying to maintain. Hunters killed 7,564 antelope in 2000, a 63 percent success rate.

Demand for hunting antelope in northwestern Colorado is high, requiring as many as 7 preference points to secure a license. "In areas of the eastern plains, demand is not as high," Ellenberger said. "But I recommend hunters secure access to private property before they even apply for a license."

In eastern Colorado and in the San Luis Valley, there is a mix of private and public land that sometimes leads to conflicts between antelope and agriculture. "In the early to mid-1990’s there were too many antelope on the Eastern plains," Ellenberger said; hence, the record harvest of 10,473 antelope in 1996 and 10,010 in 1997.

There were just a few scattered sightings of moose in North Park prior to their introduction to the area in 1978. There are now about 500 in North Park and more than 1,000 statewide. In 2000, a record 8,273 hunters applied for licenses to hunt moose; only 85 were issued. The hunters who did receive licenses were successful 91 percent of the time, killing 64 moose, the highest success rate since 1992.

"They seem to be doing very well," Ellenberger said of Colorado’s moose. "The biggest problem we have in managing moose is illegal harvest during deer and elk season." This occurs most often when hunters mistake moose for deer or elk. "Hunters need to be sure of their target before they pull the trigger," Ellenberger said. "If we could minimize this illegal harvest, our moose population would be much better off."

Illegal moose harvests were unusually low in 2000. "Why this occurred, I don’t know," Ellenberger said. "I can only speculate that deer and elk hunting was good enough that hunters didn’t shoot moose illegally as often."

There is a $1,450 fine associated with illegally killing a moose. Most people report themselves when this sort of incident occurs, but some hunters try to evade the authorities. "Usually, there are other people around to report it," Ellenberger said. "Most of the time, we find the shooter."

If you witness an illegal harvest of any animal, call the Division of Wildlife’s Operation Game Thief at 1-800-332-4155 or Verizon Wireless customers can dial #OGT.