Antelope Reintroduction to Washington

[Pathfinder101]

Not sure about that Bobcat.  I think there were originally some here.
You are right about one thing though, the ranchers will consider them an "invasive species".  In Montana they hold them just above rats...  Possibly one reason this was kept fairly quiet...

[bobcat]

Not sure about that Bobcat.  I think there were originally some here.
You are right about one thing though, the ranchers will consider them an "invasive species".  In Montana they hold them just above rats...  Possibly one reason this was kept fairly quiet...

I wonder if the fact that these were released on the Yakama reservation, by the Yakama's, if the WDFW will not have to pay for any damage they do to private property, as they do with deer/elk.

[gunnarnewt]

     I'm glad to see it's finally happened! Somebody asked if Wdfw was that hard to work with.......Are you kidding me? when I moved home from Montana, I was at a hunter safety course with one of my kids, and told the biologist and warden in attendance how happy I was to see a thriving deer herd on the wildlife refuge (columbia, white bluffs area) bordering my family's farm......there response was to inform me that the next year they were implementing an either sex season to eliminate the herd as much as possible! their reasoning was that deer were not "indiginous" to the area! I congratulated them on their "forward thinking" and replied that we are far better off to manage our state for jackrabbits and horny toads than for big game animals that could undoubtedly bring much needed revenue to the state! I had asked them also about the chance of planting goats on the wildlife refuge (Columbia) and they laughed and said slim to none. What a waste of prime antelope range! Natural borders abound and private land encroachment would be minimal, but as was said before, our wonderful, and insightful game department just doesn't want to deal with it. how sad. I for one am glad the tribe stepped up and brought them in!

[Pathfinder101]

Not sure about that Bobcat.  I think there were originally some here.
You are right about one thing though, the ranchers will consider them an "invasive species".  In Montana they hold them just above rats...  Possibly one reason this was kept fairly quiet...

I wonder if the fact that these were released on the Yakama reservation, by the Yakama's, if the WDFW will not have to pay for any damage they do to private property, as they do with deer/elk.

Probably got something to do with it.  Less red tape to get it approved...

[Gringo31]

I got a bad feeling about this and I'm guessing I won't be told the answer.

How long was it from the time these antelope were captured and the time they were shipped?

[Woodchuck]

what do you mean?

[jackelope]

I got a bad feeling about this and I'm guessing I won't be told the answer.

How long was it from the time these antelope were captured and the time they were shipped?

Page 4 of this thread...

In a lightning-fast move, 100 antelope were captured Saturday by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and dozens of volunteers, and 99 were driven in livestock trailers to the Mabton area of the Yakama Nation’s reservation and released.

They were released starting around 10:45 pm saturday night.

[Gringo31]

what do you mean?

What I'm getting at (and I realize that I'll be the bad guy here, and no, it doesn't bother me) is that collecting animals from another state and bringing them into this state without proper testing, (or without waiting for the results of those tests) is VERY IRRESPONSIBLE.

 

There is extensive testing that is done on livestock that cross state lines and unless there is some sort of test that I'm unaware of.........these actions were done foregoing the responsible testing.

I can appreciate cutting a few corners and red tape to get things done, but not at the risk to Washington agriculture.   

[Woodchuck]

That doesn't make you a bad guy, seems like a reasonable question to me 

[bearpaw]

That doesn't make you a bad guy, seems like a reasonable question to me 

I agree and must admit, I had not thought of that, good thinking Gringo, hopefully they were tested or ?

[butcher98951]

I think its cool and i am planning a trip to go look at them this weekend with my daughter... And as for the talk of them being poached by natives or by WHITEY as some would say,   the tribe is watching them very close and is doing a great job, They have done this before with the sheep and are doing a great job of managing them... Thanks Yakama Nation for doing this..

[Practical Approach]

I would wager to guess that the blood was pulled for disease testing.  However, my guess is that pronghorn cannot be held very long due to stress related issues resulting from capture and captivity.   Therefore, they were relocated and released ASAP.  I would hope that if any contagious diseases show up in the blood tests that the diseased animals or herd will be eradicated.  However, I would hope that Nevada would not offer up pronghorn from areas where known disease issues occur within the population.  I don't think I would get too worked up until all the details have been announced.

[wa.hunter]

Practical Approach
Good reply as all of the antelope were ear tagged and with many colors in case there were any issues. Their vets were on site and did take blood samples from each antelope for testing purposes. Also 40% of them have radio callars on them. I am sure they can find them and any particular one if neccessary. Nevada Game Dept. is not new at doing this and were very professional in all aspects of how this was handled.

[Gringo31]

 

were very professional in all aspects of how this was handled

Testing then shipping to find our results later is NOT professional.


I happen to know they were tested, I also am told they are waiting for results.
 

[Practical Approach]

It isn't uncommon to relocate animals that reside in an area that does not have a history of contagious diseases without prior test results in hand. 

The price tag would be substantially increased if you had to catch the animals, test them, realease them and then catch them again at a later date once the results were in.  Not only do you have to catch them twice, you double the stress on the animals, not to mention the huge increase in the price tag associated with the relocation.

It sounds like they were released in a designated area that probably is in no way near cattle, so they should have the results prior to any antelope leaving the rez.   One would think the Tribe doesn't want to invest money in this relocation and then release them in an area where they can walk right off the reservation.