This winter has not been kind to the wildlife. The snow is so deep in most places that it is almost impossible for wildlife to find food. Species such as pheasants, deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn are all affected by the depth of the snow. According to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, “Reports of pheasant losses continue, especially after the statewide rain experienced in early February. “Reports across the state vary from birds doing okay to areas with considerable losses,” said Stan Kohn, upland game bird supervisor. “In some instances, landowners are reporting 75 percent fewer birds than they did in the beginning of winter.”” The Game and Fish Department has a video about what is going on with the pheasants. It is called “Winter’s Effects on Upland Game Birds.”
Deer are also having a difficult time surviving during this winter. The Game and Fish Department “continues to receive reports of dying or dead deer in some areas of the state. Kreil said mostly fawns and older deer are affected by the cold and wind, which is not uncommon. In addition, heavy snow cover that prevents deer from accessing their usual food sources has resulted in at least five separate incidents of grain overload, with seven to 50 deer dying in each incident. Dr. Dan Grove, wildlife veterinarian, said grain overload is a result of deer overeating on corn and/or other grains. “Their diet typically consists of grasses and browse; they are not adapted to indulge only on corn, wheat and oats,” Grove said. “But with the constraints they have this winter, this is what food is readily available to them.”” Another video the Game and Fish Department has is “Winter’s Effect on Wildlife.”
Bighorn sheep are also having a hard time with the winter conditions. A representative from the Game and Fish Department states, “We recently documented the loss of six mature radio-collared bighorn sheep in the northern badlands due to exposure and severe winter weather,” said Brett Wiedmann, big game biologist. “These are big, hearty animals that should survive North Dakota winters, but apparently the severe conditions got the better of them.”
Pronghorn are another species that have been affected by the severity of the winter. According to the Game and Fish Department, “While there hasn’t been any winter-related mortality of pronghorn documented yet, Bruce Stillings, big game biologist, said there is little doubt they are in a vulnerable state due to deep snow, and in some cases have limited movement because herds are prevented from moving south of Interstate 94. “One of our biologists saw a herd of 200 pronghorn belly-deep in snow, and other large groups have been observed bunched together north of Belfield and east of Dickinson,” he added. “This is not a good situation. It is nearly impossible for them to cross the interstate and migrate to areas with less snow.””
This winter has not been a good one for wildlife. Unless the weather starts getting better there may be a major loss in population size of pheasants and deer. The snow cover prevents deer and pheasants from reaching their normal food sources. Without those normal food sources deer and pheasants are forced to find other sources of food. This takes them away from their normal habitat and closer to farmsteads where readily available food can be found.
From Article: Winter Wildlife Woes Continue
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Hey this is a great PR topic that will be continually talked about for many months to come yet. As you can tell Mother Nature has still not let up even late into March! You are right this is a major issue in ND as the wildlife struggle to make it through the winter of 2009. I did here some good news just recently though from some area farmers. They said that even after this last snow and cold snap they are still seeing pheasants.
ReplyDeleteThis is my opinion on this matter. I can guarantee that 99% of the people will blame all the wildlife deaths this winter on the cold weather. In my opinion the deaths of these animals are due to the people themselves. These animals need sufficient cover to even have a chance of surviving a ND bad winter. Since 1997 (Our last bad winter) instead of creating more and better habitat for these animals we have instead even destroyed more. 1000's upon 1000's of CRP grassland acres have been dug up for farming. Without this grassland we WILL NOT have pheasants, whitetail deer, grouse, partridge, and many other animals because of the lack of cover. Even if ND has a slight harsh winter these animals will be screwed without any cover.
this is very true, this winter has been horrible with very cold temps and a lot of snow in a very short time. The wildlife has been struggling all winter and like Jeff said that if the winter does not start to let up, we will see a major decline in wildlife populations within the state. i agree with Dan as well, that the population needs adequate cover to survive the North Dakota winters.
ReplyDeleteI will have to say this winter started out pretty bad with all the snow and cold and I will have to agree with this PR Blog the wild life population could see some decline and Habitat loses are not helping the wild life at all the shelter belts being taking out and CRP loses. I will have to say on this year due to the wet fall allot of standing corn fields where left standing which I feel is helping the wildlife even though there are cases of Acidosis and Enterotoxemia, without these fields how many deer and pheasant will be dying of malnutrition. These fields create a good source of habitat also where they may be none.
ReplyDeleteThis winter weather has taken a very considerable toll on all wildlife within this state. With exposure and a very low food supply, not many animals can survive. I mean big horn sheep died. That's insane, I mean those types of animals are made to withstand a North Dakota winter. Obviously this winter has not only hit us hard, but has also hit the animals in ways we can't imagine. I hate to see wildlife in such a stressful state of mind and have to deal with what mother nature throws their way, but that's also part of life. I just hope it's another 10 years before we have another winter like this one!
ReplyDeleteThis winter has been hard on wildlife especially in the northwestern part of North Dakota. One of the main problems that our wildlife has had this winter is the loss of habitat like the Conservation Reserve Program and the clearing of trees that were planted as a way to stop wind erosion. If this doesn’t change soon there is going to a lot more wildlife die off in future winters because there will not be enough room all of them in what habitat is left.
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