Range use and food habits of the pronghorn antelope in Central Montana with special reference to
alfalfa
by Glen F Cole
A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Science in Fish and Wildlife Management at Montana State College
Montana State University
© Copyright by Glen F Cole (1955)
Abstract:
A study of the range use and food habits of the pronghorn antelope was conducted during 1953 and
1954 on an area in Central Montana where the principal land use was stockraising, integrated with
alfalfa forage and seed production. Data indicating seasonal and inseason differences in the use of
vegetative types were obtained by recording observations of antelope seen on agricultural croplands
and rangeland types along routes. Food habits were determined by rumen analyses and the examination
of antelope feeding sites. Various characteristics of the alfalfa fields used by antelope and those not
used were described and compared. Seasonal differences in the intensities of field use by antelope and
the numbers, sex and age classes involved were indicated by regular observations of alfalfa fields.
Observations of fawns and yearlings, marked with plastic ear tags, and recognizable adults provided
data on movements in relation to fields and some of the factors influencing field use. Measurements of
alfalfa plants inside and outside exclosures and pellet group counts along transect lines on fields
provided data on the effects and pattern of antelope use on fields. RANGE USE AND FOOD HABITS OF THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE IN .
CENTRAL MONTANA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ALFALFA
■byGlen F. Cole
A THESIS
Submitted to th e Graduate F aculty'
in
p a r t ia l f u lf illm e n t o f the requirem ents
fo r th e degree o f
Master o f Scien ce in F ish and W ild life Management
at
Montana S ta te C ollege
Approved:
HeadjAMajor Department
Chairman s Examining Committee
Bozeman, Montana
"
'
N 3 If
C
W K
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Table o f Contents
Page
A bstract .........................................................................................................................
3
In trod u ction ......................................................... ...................................... ...............
It
The Study Area ............................................................................................................
6
V eg eta tiv e Types ............................................................................................
Use o f V eg eta tiv e Types .......................................... .............................................
15
Antelope Food H abits ................................. ............................................. ...............
17
Use o f A lf a lf a F ie ld s .............................................. .............................................
32
Numbers U sing F ie ld s ...........................................................................
37
D iffe r e n c e s in Numbers Using F ie ld s and I n t e n s it ie s o f F ie ld
Use ..............................................................................................................
38
Sex and Age C la sses Using F ie ld s .........................................................
IiO
Movements in R e la tio n t o A lfa lf a F ie ld s ..........................................
U2
E ffe c ts o f Antelope Use on F ie ld s .......................................................
57
Summary...........................................................................................................................
6h
Management S u ggestion s ..........................................................................................
72
L ite ra tu r e C ited ........................................................... .................................... ..
73
11 ' 7 0 7
*
$f' ?
/
-3-.
ABSTRACT
A stu d y o f th e range u se and food h a b its o f th e pronghorn antelope
was conducted during 1933 and 1931 on an area in C entral Montana where
th e p r in c ip a l land u se was s to c k r a is in g , in te g r a te d w ith a l f a l f a forage
and seed p rod u ction . Data in d ic a tin g sea so n a l and in sea so n d iffe r e n c e s
in the use o f v e g e ta tiv e typ es were o b ta in ed .b y record in g o b serv a tio n s
o f antelop e seen on a g r ic u ltu r a l croplands and rangeland typ es along
r o u te s . Food h a b its were determined by rumen a n a ly ses and t h e ' examin-'"'
-ation o f antelop e fe e d in g s i t e s . Various c h a r a c t e r is t ic s o f th e " a lfa lfa
f i e l d s used by antelop e and th o se n o t u sed were d escrib ed and compared.
S easonal d iffe r e n c e s in the i n t e n s i t i e s o f f i e l d use by antelop e and the
numbers, sex and age c la s s e s in volved 'w ere in d ic a te d by r eg u la r ob ser­
v a tio n s o f a l f a l f a f i e l d s . O bservations o f fawns and y e a r lin g s , marked
w ith p la s t ic ear t a g s , and reco g n iza b le a d u lts provided data on movements
in r e la t io n to f i e l d s and some o f the fa c to r s in flu e n c in g f i e l d u se .
Measurements o f a l f a l f a p la n ts in s id e and o u tsid e e x c lo su r e s and p e l l e t
group counts along tr a n s e c t lin e s on f i e l d s provided data on the e f f e c t s
and p a tte rn o f antelop e use on f i e l d s .
-UINTRODUCTrON
The p la in s area o f Montana i s in clu d ed in the o r ig in a l range o f th e
pronghorn a n te lo p e , A ntilocarp a americana.
Beer (19UU) concluded from
S eto n 1s e a r ly e stim a te s th a t th e " origin al" p op ulation was about
2 , S1OO5OOO.
The s e t t l i n g o f the p la in s area by homesteaders in the e a r ly
1900s i s g e n e r a lly b e lie v e d to have r e s u lte d in co n d itio n s th a t were
By 1922-2U the p o p u la tio n had
d e c id e d ly adverse to th e pronghorn.
dwindled to about 3 ,0 0 0 (N elson, 1 9 2 S ).
During t h is p erio d o f low popu­
la tio n s some c it iz e n s became a c t iv e ly concerned.
te c te d sm all remnant h erd s.
C ertain ranchers pro­
Other remnant herds su rvived in areas o f
l e s s in te n se a g r ic u ltu r e and su p erio r escape h a b ita ts .
Human depopulation o f th e p la in s and the abandonment o f dryland
farms occurred during th e droughts o f 1918-21 and 1930-37 (G ieseker e t
a l . , 195>3).
P r o g r e s s iv e ly more e f f i c i e n t law enforcem ent, predator con­
t r o l , and water developm ents, in the form o f a r t i f i c i a l sto c k r e s e r v o ir s ,
probably served to fu rth e r le s s e n th e environm ental r e s is ta n c e o f prong­
horn h a b ita t.
Numbers in c r e a se d .
B io lo g ic a l Survey e stim a te s fo r 1937,
1938 and 1939 were 1 0 , 602, 6,7UO and 7 , 1^.2 r e s p e c t iv e ly .
A 19Ul ground
census estim a ted the pop u lation a t lU,233 (B eer, op. c i t . ) .
Montana’s
f i r s t a e r ia l census (l9L3-bW gave an estim a ted w in ter p o p u la tio n o f
lU,225> (Bergeson and Thompson, 19^6}.
To g iv e impetus to th e r e s to r a tio n o f antelope th e Montana F ish and
Game Department i n i t i a t e d a trapp ing and tr a n sp la n tin g program in I 9I46.
From 19I46 to 19U9, 2,383 were tra n sp la n ted in to form erly unoccupied
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h a b ita ts or h is t o r ic a l ranges where th e anim als were low in numbers«
Estim ated p op u lation s fo r 19h7 and 19$1 were 26,000 and £0,6 0 0 r e ­
s p e c t iv e ly (Montana F ish & Game Commission 19lt6-it7 and 1 9 £ 0 -£ 2 ).
The
19£i| p op u lation was estim a ted a t 67, 600.
Ba r ec e n t years th e antelope, has become one o f th e p r in c ip a l huntable
b ig game s p e c ie s in the s t a t e .
Since 19ll3, when 7£0 perm its were is s u e d ,
antelop e hunting seasons have occurred ann ually and have become pro­
g r e s s iv e ly more l ib e r a l; e . g . , 2,8£L, 9,272 and 23,677 an telo p e perm its
were issu e d to the p u b lic by the F ish and Game Department fo r th e years
1914.7, 1931 and 19£lt r e s p e c t iv e ly .
C oincident w ith p op u lation b u ild u p s, r ep o rts o f an telop e depreda­
tio n on a l f a l f a f i e l d s , rep orted as e a r ly as 1922-2^ fo r th e s t a t e by
N elson (op . c i t . ) , in c r e a se d .
Since a l f a l f a r a is in g i s an important
economy over much o f th e antelop e range, t h i s c o n f li c t has caused much
. concern.
The u t i l i z a t i o n o f a l f a l f a f i e l d s by antelope i s w e ll e s ­
ta b lis h e d .
The e x te n t o f damage, segments o f 'the p op ulation in volved
and other p e r tin e n t fa c to r s have n o t been thorou ghly in v e s tig a te d .
To
determine some o f th e s e unknown fa c to r s an in te n s iv e f i e l d stud y w a s'
conducted A p ril 6 , to September 2h, 1933 and May 23, to October 7 , 19£U.
F a ll and w in ter p eriod s in 1932 and 1933 were devoted to the i d e n t i f i ­
c a tio n o f p la n t c o l l e c t i o n s , a n a ly ses o f rumen samples and making antelop e
c o lle c t i o n s .
Thanks are extended t o the fo llo w in g :
Dr. Don C. Quimby, fo r te c h ­
n ic a l su p e r v isio n and guidance in the preparation o f th e m anuscript; D rs.
J . C. Wright and W. E. Booth, fo r a s s is ta n c e in p la n t id e n t if ic a t io n s ;
D. L« Brown fo r a d m in istra tiv e d ir e c tio n and perm ission to use census and
tr a n sp la n tin g data; H. D. Picton- fo r a s s is ta n c e in record in g data from
a l f a l f a f i e l d s ; R. Le Eng, G. B. Chaffe and J« L» Egan fo r c o lle c t in g
antelop e during th e w r it e r ’s absence from the area; Mr. and Mrs. -Joe '.King
o f th e King and P eterson L iv esto ck Company fo r perm ission to use company
property and fo r cooperation which made th e study p o s s ib le ; the U, S.
F o rest S e r v ic e , S o il C onservation S e r v ic e , Production and Marketing
A sso c ia tio n and th e Bureau o f Land Management fo r v a rio u s data on land
acreages ownership and a d m in istr a tio n .
Further thanks a r e . extended to
th e Montana F ish and Game Department f o r fin a n cin g the stu d y.
THE STUDY AREA
A 62,160 acre stu d y area in Petroleum County, approxim ately U5 m ile s
e a s t o f the s t a t e ’s geographic cen ter a t Lewistown, was s e le c t e d fo r
stu d y.
This area was s e le c t e d because i t s antelop e -p opulations, land use
and v e g e ta tio n were more or l e s s t y p ic a l o f much o f Montana’s antelope
range and because an telop e depredations on a l f a l f a crops were fr eq u en tly
reported by landowners.
n a tiv e h erd s.
P resent antelop e p op u lation s o r ig in a te d from
Census fig u r e s o f th e Montana F ish and Game Department
in d ic a te d about lj.,0 and U.5 antelop e per square m ile fo r 19?3 and 19$U
r e s p e c t iv e ly .
C urrently s ix headquarter ranches are on the area.
Abandoned homestead s i t e s are common.
The p r in c ip a l economy i s sto ck
r a is in g , in te g r a te d w ith a l f a l f a seed and forage p rod u ction .
P r iv a te ly
owned lands c o n s titu te 6 0 . 1$ (37,590 a c r e s) o f the area; p u b lic ly owned
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39®6% (2li,j?70).
P a b lie lands are adm inistered by the .U1 S . F orest
S e r v ic e , Bureau o f Land Management and the S ta te o f Montana.
Land owner­
sh ip i s shown on Figure I .
G ieseker e t a l (op* c i t . ) d e scr ib e s th e clim ate fo r th e area as
sem iarid ,
c h a r a cter iz ed by m oderately low r a i n f a l l , g rea t extremes
in summer and w in ter tem perature, many sunny days and r e l a t i v e l y low
hum idity".
The average annual p r e c ip ita tio n a t F la t W illow (U. S.
Department o f Commerce weather s ta tio n ) approxim ately f iv e m iles so u th ,
i s 12*61). in c h e s .
The mean average annual temperature i s Ith»9° F. Temper­
ature extrem es in 195>3 were IO?0 F . in J u ly and -7 ° F. in January.
The c h a r a c t e r is tic physiographic fe a tu r e s are sh a rp ly r o llin g up­
lan d p la in s , sh a le slo p e s and bottomlands (F ig . 2A ).
The l a t t e r two
occur where e r o sio n has d is s e c te d the upland p la in .
McDonald, Elk and
Yellow Water Creeks flo w through the a r ea .
The s o i l s have developed over
Cretaceous s h a le s o f the Colorado Formation (Andrews e t a l , 19hh).
land s o i l s range from heavy c la y s t o sh a le y c la y loam s.
Shale slo p es
have s o i l s ranging from f in e sh a le loams to coarse sh a le g r a v e ls .
lands range from s i l t y c la y s to c la y loam s.
Up­
Bottom­
Varying degrees o f a lk a li
are p r e se n t.
V eg eta tiv e Types
Rangeland and cropland comprise approxim ately 9!?»0$- (39,039 acres)
and 3.0% (3 ,1 2 1 a c r e s ) o f th e area r e s p e c t iv e ly .
Seven rangeland types'
and two a g r ic u ltu r a l croplands were reco g n ized as b ein g a v a ila b le to
antelope*
P ig . I .
!Pan showing the in te r s pens ion o f p r iv a te and p u b lic land on the studyarea (from U. £ . F o rest S erv ice land ownership r e c o r d s).
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Eangeland typ es
Sage b rush-grass land
This type occupied the major p o rtio n o f the stud y a rea .
E eeo g n itio n
was afford ed by th e dominant a sp ect o f Big Sagebrush (A rtem isia t r i d en ta ta ) (F ig . 2B ).
Western "Wheatgrass (Apropyron s m it h ii) , Bluebunch
Wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum ) and Blue Grama -(B outeloua g r a c i l i s ) were
th e p r in c ip a l g r a s s e s .
Among th ese g r a sse s various degrees o f a s s o c i­
a tio n occurred, but th e dominance o f one s p e c ie s , or an oth er, appeared to
c h a r a cter iz e im portant d if f e r e n c e s ' in the ty p e .
E rosion cu ts and de­
p r e ssio n s in the upland p la in favored a Big Sagebrush-W estern Wheatgrass
a s s o c ia tio n (F ig . 2C).
The Big Sagebrush-Bluebunch Wtieatgrass a s s o c i­
a tio n (F ig . 2D) was c h a r a c t e r is tic o f the sh a le y c la y loams on the up­
land s w ith in the northw est tw o -th ir d s o f th e area .
In t h i s area the
abundance o f Blue Grama appeared to be in flu e n c e d by liv e s t o c k grazing;
e . g . , r id g e top s (F ig . 3A) and areas around sto ck r e s e r v o ir s had a dense
Blue Grama t u r f .
The upland c la y loams on. the sou th eastern th ir d o f the
area favored the Big Sagebrush-Blue Grama association ®
Bluebunch Wheat-
grass occurred as is o la t e d p la n ts w ith in clumps o f Big Sagebrush.
G rassland
This type had lim ite d r e p r e se n ta tio n .
R ecogn ition was afforded by
th e absence o f the B ig Sagebrush a sp ect and the presence o f c e r ta in
g ra sses.
Sm all patch es o f n a tiv e grasslan d (Western W heatgrass-Bluegra s s ,
Poa s p .) occurred w ith in sw ales which were never c u ltiv a te d (F ig . 3B),
but most o f the type was con fin ed to abandoned upland f i e l d s .
A r tific ia l-
I
0
1
H
-ivWV
,
S - V'
„
-
'
TIi
F ig . 3 .
Photographs illu s t r a t in g c h a r a c t e r is tic s o f tne study area. A. Big Sagebrush-Blue Grama
a s s o c ia tio n . B. N ative grassland (Western W heatgrass-Blueg ra ss) in a swale on the upland
p la in . C. E xtensive Shale Slope type grading from a Icrv sh ale r id g e . D. Greasewood type
showing lu x u ria n t v e g e ta tiv e growth.
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I y seeded C rested Wheatgrass ( Agropyron c rista tn m ) occupied the major
p o rtio n o f th e abandoned s i t e s .
Other s i t e s showed varying degrees o f
su c c e ssio n toward the Sagebrush-grassland ty p e .
On heavy c la y s o i l s
in v a sio n s by Big Sagebrush appeared to be reta rd ed .
H ere, Western Wheat-
g r a s s , H eedle-and-thread .(S tip a comata) and Green H eedlegrass '(S tig a
v ir id u la ) were dominant.
Clay Slope
This was th e sm a lle st upland ty p e .
R ecogn ition was afford ed by th e
slo p e lo c a t io n , th e absence o f the Big Sagebrush a sp ect and the exposed
c la y soil®
This type was con fin ed to th e so u th ea stern th ir d o f the area
and occurred on is o la t e d w e st-fa c in g slo p e s w ith in Sagebrush-grassla iid .
Forbs, e s p e c ia lly v e rn a l ty p e s , were r e l a t i v e l y abundant.
Stem less
Goldenweed (Haploppapus a c a u lis ) , H u tta ll Goldenweed (Haploppapus"nu tt a l l i ) and Lewis * Wild Flax (Linum l e w i s i ) were some o f the ch aracter­
i s t i c f o r b s.
Shale Slope
This type had lim ite d r ep r e se n ta tio n on the northwest tw o -th ird s o f
th e a rea .
H ere, i t was con fin ed to ste e p slo p e s below sh a le r id g e s which
bordered bottom lands.
On th e sou th eastern th ir d o f th e area th e type was
more e x te n s iv e , occupying g e n tle slo p e s which graded towards bottomlands
from low sh a le r id g e s (F ig . 3 0 ).
The Sagebrush-grassland type fr e q u e n tly
occurred between th e Shale Slope and oth er bottomland ty p es h e r e .
Recog­
n it io n o f th e type was afford ed by th e slo p e lo c a tio n , th e absence o f the
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Big Sagebrush a sp ect and the coarse sh a le s o i l s .
The p o sitio n 'b e lo w
sh a le form ations and a lower slo p e tr a n s it io n in t o o th er rangeland ty p es
su ggested pion eer s t a t u s .
F a lse Lupine ( Thermopsis rh o m b ifo lia ) and Big
Sandgrass ( O alam ovilfa l o n g i f o l i a ) were th e c h a r a c t e r is tic p la n ts .
Greasewood
In s iz e t h i s was a minor ty p e , occurring o n ly in bottomlands contain'
in g the la r g e r stream s.
R ecogn ition was afford ed by the dominant a sp ect
o f Greasewood ( Sarcobatus v iy m ieu la tu s) .
A sso c ia tio n s varied , from
G reasew ood-Saltgrass (p i s t i c h l i s s t r i c t a ) on lim ite d s i t e s o f a lk a li im­
pregnated s i l t y c la y s to Greasewood-Western Wheatgrass on c la y loam s.
In
c lo s e p roxim ity to streams or on s u b -ir r ig a te d s i t e s th e l a t t e r a s s o c i­
a tio n acquired dense and lu x u ria n t growth (F ig . 3D ).
deciduous shrub f lo r a were p r e se n t.
A v a r ie d .f orb and
The type was commonly adjacent to
a lfa lfa f ie ld s .
Sagebrush-Greasewood
This type was s l i g h t l y more e x te n siv e than the form er.
R ecogn ition
was afford ed by the dominant asp ect o f th e Big Sagebrush-Greasewood
association ®
I t was con fin ed to bottomland f l a t s and g e n tle slo p es b e­
tween th e Sagebrush-grassland and Greasewood ty p e s .
On heavy c la y s o i l s ,
m arginal c o n d itio n s fo r Big Sagebrush were su ggested by i t s low sta tu r e
and l e s s vigorous appearance.
Western lW heatgrass was th e dominant g r a s s .
Sparse v e g e ta tio n and freq u en t areas o f Dare s o i l were c h a r a c t e r is t ic .
Abandoned Meadow
This type occurred on abandoned bottomland meadows.
Only two s i t e s
were recogn ized ; one w ith in the Greasewood ty p e , the o th er w ith in the
Sagebnish-Greasewood ty p e .
The former had more lu x u ria n t v e g e ta tio n and
a g rea ter v a r ie t y o f forb s and shrubs.
In b oth , forb s appeared to be
r e l a t i v e l y more abundant than in th e r e s p e c tiv e adjacent rangeland ty p e s .
IffesternlJheatgrass was the p r in c ip a l g r a s s .
A g r icu ltu r a l croplands
A lfa lf a F ie ld s
■ A lf a lf a f i e l d s occupied about h*3% (2,6^ 9 a cres) o f th e area.
They
were con fin ed to th e l e s s a lk a l i impregnated s o i l s along bottom lands.
F ie ld s iz e v a r ie d from approxim ately 20 to 3^0 a c r e s.
in t e r s e c te d th e f i e l d s fo r ir r ig a t io n pu rp oses.
D itch systems
A l f a l f a ■d e n s it ie s were
v a r ia b le between f i e l d s and w ith in in d iv id u a l f i e l d s .
F ie ld s w ith sparse
a l f a l f a were p r im a r ily one crop hay meadows w ith Western Tffheatgrass
and/or Timothy (Phleum prate n s e ) supplying most o f the fo r a g e .
field s-.p rod u ced two crops a n n u ally .
Other
E ith er the f i r s t or second may be
l e f t fo r seed in years fa v o rin g p rod u ction .
A ll f i e l d s were w ith in four
to f iv e strand barbed-wire and/or Woven w ire fe n c e s .
The amounts of
rangeland e n c lo se d w ith in th e se fe n c e s v a r ie d from narrow fen ce borders
t o more than the a l f a l f a acreage.
Grain F ie ld s
Small grain f i e l d s occupied about 0*7# (1.62 .acres) o f ,the area*
A l-
-a l­
though th e area i s m arginal fo r wheat, i t comprised the major p o rtio n o f
th e sm all grain acrea g e„ F ie ld s were co n fin ed to the more mature loams
on upland s i t e s and to th e b e tte r drained s o i l s along bottom lands.
Bottomland f i e l d s were g e n e r a lly adjacent t o a l f a l f a .
1Wheat and summer
fa llo w were a lte r n a te d .
USE OF VEGETATIVE TYPES
A ntelope numbers, observed w ith th e aid o f a b in o cu la r and sp o ttin g
sco p e, on the variou s rangeland typ es and crop lands, were recorded along
r e g u la r ly e s ta b lis h e d r o u te s from A p ril 6 to September 2li, 1953 and May
23 to October 7 , 195U.
Routes were s y s te m a tic a lly covered in a v e h ic le
a f t e r May I , 1953.
A ll p o r tio n s o f the area were v i s i t e d a t in te r v a ls o f
two weeks or l e s s .
The r e s u lt s are shown in Table I .
S ageb ru sh -grasslan d .received the g r e a te s t use fo r the e n tir e p eriod
(about k9% o f the t o t a l ) .
summer, averaging 69<,6%.
Heavy use i s in d ic a te d fo r sp rin g and e a r ly
E arly J u ly use sh a rp ly d e c lin e d (57*3%)*
Fur­
th er d e c lin e s through la t e J u ly , August and September occurred, w ith
minimum u se (2 2 0k%) in d icated ' fo r th e l a s t h a l f o f September.crease occurred a ft e r October I ,
X
':
■Grassland r e c e iv e d minor u s e , about 5% o f the t o t a l .
An in ­
A s lig h t i n ­
crea se coin cid ed witla th e J u ly l - l 5 d e c lin e fo r Sagebrush-grassland.
Only v ery minor u s e , a l l b efore the l a s t h a lf o f J u ly , was in d ic a te d
fo r the Clay Slope (0*2$ o f th e t o t a l ) .
S e a so n a lly , on ly moderate use on Shale S lop es was in d ic a te d ( about
12% o f th e t o t a l ) .
A marked in c r ea se was noted a fte r J u ly 15*
More or
Table I .
T o ta l numbers o f antelop e observed along routes, and the percentages o f the t o t a l seen
on th e variou s rangeland ty p es and crop lan d s.
Percentages on
N o.' ______________ Percentages on rangeland ty p es
_________________ croplands
Periods an telop e SagebrushClay Shale G rease--Sagebrush- Abandoned A lfa lfa Grain.
J________ observed grasslan d Grassland Slope slo p e wood
greasewood meadow
f i e l d s f ie ld s
Spring
il/6 -1 5
if/16-28
5 /1 -1 5
5 /1 6 -3 1
571
1068
1117
925
73.1*
60*6
66,2
73.5
5*9
I*.5
1**2
5 .9
Summer
6 /1 -1 5
6/1 6 -3 0
7 /1 -1 5
7 /1 6 -3 1
8 /1 -1 5 '
8/1 6 -3 1
783
11*58
2007
1757
1778
26 U5
7l*.5
72,2
5 7 .3
53.7
3 9 .7
3 3 .7
5 .2
7 .1
10.1*
I*. 3
5 .6
5.1*
7 .9
0 .1
8 .7
0 .9 • 8 .0
1 5 .8
20.2
1 9 .1
2297
1688
.339
3 2 .2
22.1*
3 8 .1
2 .0
3 .9
8 ,8
18,133
1*9.1
5 Ut
F a ll
9 /1 -1 5
9/16-30
1 0 /1 -7
T otal
0 , 2.
1 .3
0 J2
2 .8
1*.5
5 .5
8 .9
1 .0
I*.2
. 1 7 .7
3 0 .2
2 0 .9
5 .1
0 .2
0 .8
2 .2
6 .5
7 .1.
18 .0
1 5 .U
2 2 .9
1 5 ,6
'3 .8
3 .2
1 .8
1.1*
0.1*
0 .9
2.0
1 .2
2 .7
6 .5
10.0
22 .5
0 .5
0 .8
0 .1
1 ,2
2 .3
ll*.6
8 .7
1 7 .7
■12.0
1 1 .7
1 0 .9 .
2 .1
0 .1
3 2 .1
5 0 .3 '
23.9
I*.9
2 .9
0 .6 '
1 2 .2
1 1 .8
$.0
lU.5
1.5
2 .7
0.1*
-
0 ,2
.
r 0 .3
-1 7 -
I e s s comparable i n t e n s i t i e s o f use continued to October I , averaging
1 6 .U 6.
Seasonal use on Greasewood was a ls o moderate (about 1 2 $ ),
Appreci­
able u se a f t e r June 30 was in d ic a te d , w ith a r e l a t i v e l y high peak (22.9%)
in the f i r s t h a lf o f August.
A gradual d e c lin e to October 7 occurred.
O verall use o f Sagebrush-Greasewood was minor (about 5>% o f the t o t a l ) .
R e la t iv e ly h igh l e v e l s in sp rin g c o in cid ed w ith the low er l e v e l s o f heavy
use on S agebrush-grassland.
A p r o g r essiv e d e c lin e occurred through
summer.
Abandoned Meadows r e c e iv e d v ery minor use (0®3% o f th e t o t a l ) .
A ll
was a ft e r J u ly 1 $ .
A lfa lf a f i e l d s r e c e iv e d moderate se a so n a l use ( about lb% o f the
to ta l).
E arly sp rin g to midsummer use was n e g lig ib le .
A fter midsummer
a l f a l f a f i e l d use p r o g r e s s iv e ly in c r e a se d , reaching a maximum (5)0.3%) in
the l a s t h a lf o f September.
A marked d e c lin e occurred a f t e r October I .
Grain f i e l d s r e c e iv e d minor u s e , 1.5% o f the t o t a l .
occurred was a f t e r June 15«
That which
Summer use in creased through the f i r s t h a lf
o f September and then d e c lin e d .
The fa llo w land p o rtio n o f grain f i e l d s
r e c e iv e d th e g r e a te s t u se "during th e seasons when t h is stu d y was. con­
ducted.
Numbers o f an telop e seen on g ra in f i e l d s t o t a le d 238 o f which
229 ( 96%) were on fa llo w land .
P o s s ib le reasons fo r th e apparent d iffe r e n c e s in th e u se o f the
vario u s rangeland typ es and croplands are in d ic a te d in th e fo llo w in g
s e c t io n s .
ANTELOPE food habits
Two methods were used to determ ine food h a b it s i in s ta n c e s o f p la n t
use a t an telop e fe e d in g s i t e s and-rumen a n a ly s is .
E ighty-one s i t e s were
- 18 -
care f u l l y examined during 1953 and 1951.
New use on p la n ts was recorded.
An acquaintance w ith d iffe r e n c e s in the appearance o f new and o ld use was
obtained by c lip p in g and examining tagged v e g e ta tio n .
Examinations were
not made i f liv e s t o c k was known to have r e c e n tly used the s it e *
A rooted
individual- p la n t stem was considered th e u n it fo r recording one in sta n ce
o f u s e ♦ A t o t a l o f 5 j6 l6 in s ta n c e s o f u se on -12 browse s p e c ie s ? 6 l forbs
and th e g la s s e s was recorded (Table 2 ) ,
.V a rio u s/m o d ifica tio n s o f p la n t
use ob serva tion s to determine b ig game food h a b its have been employed by
Rouse ( l 9 l l ) , Buechner (1 9 5 0 ), Brazda (19537, Baunders (19510 and o th e r s ,
..........C o lle c tio n s o f 26 antelop e fo r rumen samples were made on or adjacent
to th e stu d y area from March 3, 1953 to March 1 0 , 195k.
on September 28, 1952.
One was c o lle c t e d
Quart rumen samples were preserved in 10$ form alin
fo r la b o ra to ry exam ination. . In the la b o ra to ry , samples were washed w ith
water on co n secu tiv e 3 mm and 2 mm mesh s c r e e n s .
The fr a c tio n reta in ed
on the 3 mm screen was p laced in a pan c o n ta in in g w ater.
were seg r e g a ted .
Various p la n ts'
I d e n t if ic a t io n s to fa m ily , genus or s p e c ie s were
accom plished by comparisons w ith r e fer en ce p la n t c o l l e c t i o n s .
Volumes
to the n e a r e st 0.5 c c , by water d isp lacem en t, and a ir -d r ie d w eights to
0 .0 1 gram were obtained fo r the seg reg a ted p la n t item s on th e 3 mm screen
and the u n id e n tifie d m a ter ia l on the 2 mm sc r e e n .
were con sid ered t r a c e s .
to t a le d 5,0ltk c c .
to ta l.
Items l e s s than 0.5 cc
A fter w ashing, the m a teria l on both screens
That on the 3 mm screen was approxim ately 2h% o f the
About 88$ was id e n t if ia b le ( Table 2 ) ,
Table 2.
Antelope food h ab its as determined by the analyses o f 27 rumen samples and 5,616 instances of p lan t use a t antelope
feedin g s i t e s . T = trace ( l e s s than 0 .5 c c . ) .
SnHng_________________ _gjj B£________ __
P lants
Artemisia trident ata
Artemisia friglda
Artemisia cana
(AurysothainBis nsuseosns
Rosa arkansana
Symphorlcarpos occldent a i l s
Sarcobatus vermTculatna
AirlpIeiE- C o n fe r tlfo lla
Junlperue h o rlzo n ta ila
n tia f r a g illg
_____ ponderosa
Apocyrmm cannaklum
R iro tla lan a ta
S a llx sp.
Rhus tr ilo b a te
Cbeerved
ln stancee
o f use
Ho.
%
326 38.6
21* 2 .8
31
3 .7
2
0 .2
lt.6
39
11»
S ix rumen
samples
% V ol. % Wt.
$1.5
13.1»
$ 7.5
1 2.1
3 .7
0 .2
2 .5
0 .5
1 .7
1.1»
0 .6
T
Mo.
%
11» 0.1»
$1» 1 .5
26
0 .7
56
1 .6
1*65 12.9
60
1 .7
0 .6
23
Seven rumen
samples
%Vol. % Wt.
2 .5
0 .7
0.1»
10.2
10.5
8.2
0 .1
0 .1
1.1»
0 .3
0 .5
$ .3
I
0 .1
2 .9
11.5
12.9
I*.3
1 .1
17.7
T
3 .1
11.6
1L.2
5.1»
1.7
16.9
T
T
Six rumen
samples
* Vol. % Wt.
35.6
31».1»
23.1
3 .0
36.3
30.9
25.6
3 .0
0 .6
0 .8
0 .6
0 .9
T
0 .7
0 .6
T
1 .8
?
18
11
2
Shepherdla' argentea
O utiarresIa sarothrae
I
Browse t o t a ls
I
17
3
6
63
Eight rumen
samples
%Vol. % ’.vt.
T
T
15
2 .2
0 .6
0 .3
9 .1
12.3
8.8
0 .1
: : ______ _
Observed
instances
of use
Ho.
%
1 .9
1 .2
ChrysoDiamnus v lseld lflo ru s
Medicare s a tIva
Traropogoo dubius
Artem isia ludovlclana
T ic ia s p a r s lfo lia
Comandra p a llid a
Lomatlum foeniculacemn
Allium t e x t i l e
Besseya eln srea
Aater epp.
Observed
ln s to ic e s
o f use
$3.1»
I
0 .1
1*3
11»
5 .1
1 .7
6
0 .7
70.8
l».l
2 .9
0.1*
10.7
0.1*
0 .8
20.3
32.6
33.1»
1*0 1 .1
792 22.0
1 .1
Ul
31» 0 .9
0 .3
6 .8
2 9 .U
1 .8
0 .1
o .$
5 .3
31.3
2 .3
0.2
522
18
3
5 .9
3 .7
95
75.7
2 .8
2 .5
0.1*
6 .5
0 .3
o .$
0 .5
0 .3
0 .1
226
6 .3
$0.1,
$2.9
98.2
97.9
28.8
23.2
T
0 .3
T
0.2
UU.3
1 .5
0 .3
H t.l
15.7
8 .0
1 .0
1 .0
T
T
7 .7
Table 2 (Continued)
__________ S p rin g ______________________ Summer__________________________F a ll
Observed
P lants
instances
of use
____________________ No.
%
S o lid ag o sp p .
Penstemon a lb id u s
S p h a e ra lc e a c o c c in e a
F etalostem o n sp p .
B ahia o p p o s i t i f o l i a
P s o ra le a t e n u i f l o r a
Haplopappus n u t t a l l i i
Taraxacum sp .
Linum rig id u m
C o n rin g ia o r i e n t a l i s
Ruraex sp .
Polygonum sp p .
P o te n tila g r a c i li s
A stra g a lu s a g r e s t i s
H e lia n th u s s p .
A stra g a lu s g i l v i f lo r u s
G ly c y rrh iz a le p i d o ta
T rifo liu m sp .
Hymencncys a c a u lu s
A c h ille a la n u l lo s a
T helasperm a g r a c i le
G aura c o c c in e a
L i a t r i s p u n c ta ta
A re n a ria h o o k e ri
A s tra g a lu s m is s o u r ie n s is
V erbena b r a c t e a ta
R a tib id a co lu m n a ris
P la n ta g o s p in u lo s a
M e l il o ti s alfca
Eriogcnum m u ltic e p s
U
I
19
Six rumen
samples
% Vol« % -ft-
Observed
instances
of use
No.
%
186
16
2
21)7
1 .3
0 .1
I
17
7
2.3
2
5o
3
5.2
Seven rumen
samples
%Yol. % '.ft.
0 .1
0.7
2.6
5.2
6 .9
2 .9
0.1)
1 . 1»
0 .1
1.3
2.5
2.0
0 .1
0 .6
0 .1
1 .5
1.0
3.9
0.3
0.3
o .5
o .5
0 .2
0 .1
o . l)
ll ) l
10
3
o.h
T
25
3 .0
T
T
9
1 .1
T
T
T
T
21)7
10
60
21)
I
7
2
I
0 .1
T
6.8
0 .3
1.7
0 .7
0.2
0 .1
1.8
0 .6
2.0
3 .6
3 .6
1.2
3.0
2.5
16
67
0 .1
W inter
E ig h t rumen
samples
% Vol. %',ft.
1 . 1»
1.6
2.0
5 .7
0 .3
0.1)
0 . 1)
I)
7
0.6
T
T
T
T
0 .6
0.8
57
I) . 8
T
T
T
0 .8
1.2
0 .6
0.2
1.3
I
0 .1
1.1)
11
0 .9
76
6 .5
2
0.2
0.3
0.8
0.5
0.8
3
0 .3
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
18
1 .5
I)
0.3
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
0 .6
0 .2
0 .1
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
I
15
T
T
T
T
Observed
instances
of use
Po.
%
5
0 .1
2
0 .2
261)
22
7.3
0 .6
112
9 .5
Six rumen
samples
%y0i . %yjt.
Table 2 (Continued)
P lan ts
Observed
In stances
of use
>.
8
8
0.9
0.9
7
7
0.8
0.8
I
330
9 .2
17
o.5
0.3
9
7
7
6
5
U
Ii
Ii
21.6
Lichen
Carex f i l i f o l i a
T riticu a a estivu a
Grass t o t a ls
Instances
of use
No.
%
__________
Seven rumen
samples
%Vol. % Wt.
instances
of use
No.
%
6
Ii
0.5
0.3
Il
5
33
Ii
Ii
0.3
0.1*
2.8
0.3
0.3
mgn x, rumen
samples
% Vol. % Wt.
Six rumen
samples
% Vol. % Wt.
0.5
Erigeron caesp itosu e
A stragalus b lsu lca tu s
Sonchus arvensia
Haploppapus spInulosua
A eroeeris cuspidate
A trip lex argentsa
U n id en tified Pbrbe
Forb t o t a ls
Six rumen
samples
% Vol. % Wt.
I Jl
1.0
20.7
lil.O
T
T
T
T
0 .2
-21
D escurainia sp.
A stragalus s tr ia tu s
Bilox hoocfi
Muslneon divarlcatum
Penstemon n i t Idas
MlcroserTs nutans
toaplopappus acau lis
Lactuoa e c a rlo la
krlogonum flavum
A rtem isia canadensis
A stagalus flsxuosus
Psoralea"argophylla
^ r lgeron pumiius
Chrysopsls v illo a a
B alsola TSlT
I r l n j e l i a equarrosa
%
Winter
0 .2
0 .2
0 .1
0.1
0.1
0.1
3
I
0.1
It
0.1
79.5
66.0
61*.3
91.5
7
211 25.0
8.3
lO.li
Ii
0.1
l.lt
2.1
T
T
1*8.1,
1*5.6
0.6
1.2
1.1*
T
T
0.3
0.2
T
T
1.5
1.9
■22-
Spring (March, A p r il, May)
S ix rumen samples (2 fo r each month) were analyzed.
Three were from
animals c o lle c t e d on Sagebrush-grass la n d $ two from Sagebrush-Oreasewood
and th e oth er from G rassland.
S ix browse s p e c ie s c o n s titu te d 70.8% by
volume and 7f>*7% by w eight o f the rumen sam p les.
Big Sagebrush and
Fringed Sage (A rtem isia f r ig id a ) were th e major item s, amounting to 6U»9%
by volume and 69.6% by w eig h t.
by w e ig h t.
Forbs made up 20.7% by volume and lU.0%
Ten s p e c ie s were' i d e n t if ie d .
the most important (lO„7% v o l . , 6 .!?% w t . ) .
Eomatium (L. foeniculaceum ) was
Grass c o n s titu te d 8.3% by
volume and 10. h% by w eigh t.
Important monthly d iffe r e n c e s were obscured by sea so n a l analyses
(F ig . k ) .
Although browse e a s i l y ranked f i r s t fo r the e n tir e season,
forb s were f i r s t in May 61.7% v o l . , 53.9% w t . ) .
Only two fo rb s (one as
a tr a c e ) were p resen t in the four March and A p ril sam ples.
The samples .
fo r A p ril contain ed th e g r e a te s t amount o f grass (ll.7% v o l . , 13.8% w t.);
fo r March th e l e a s t (U .2 , 14.3)»
Percentages fo r May were 6 .9 and 1 2 .0 .
A t o t a l o f 8I4I4 in s ta n c e s o f p la n t u se was recorded a t 33 feed in g
s i t e s as f o llo w s : Sagebrush-grassland— 288 observed in sta n c e s o f u se , 17
s i t e s ; G rassland—162, 2; C lay S lop e—117, 5? Shale S lop e—72, 5; Sagebrush-Greasewood— 205,
o b se rv a tio n s) .
Browse r e c e iv e d the g r e a te s t u se (53*14% o f a l l
Seven s p e c ie s were r ep re sen ted , but Big Sagebrush was by
fa r th e most im portant ( 38. 6%).
Grass u se was 25.0% and fo rb s 21.6%.
The l a t t e r was rep resen ted by 17 s p e c ie s .
fou rth o f the forb u s e .
>
Eomatium. r e c e iv e d about one-
VOLUME
BY
PERCENT
V)
I
MAR.
APR.
MAY
BROWSE
F ig . U.
JUNE
JULY
AUG.
O
FORBS
SEPT.
OCT.
NOV.
DEC.
JAN.
FEB.
Illl GRASS
Forage c la s s use by months as in d ic a te d by volume percentages o f antelope rumen sam ples.
Important d iffe r e n c e s in forage c la s s use were n o ted fo r the d i f f e r ­
en t v e g e ta tiv e t y p e s .. Browse was most important on the Sagebrush-grass­
Shale Slope ( 69 •b%) and Sagebrush-Greasewood (57»9%) Types.
land
Big Sagebrush was the most im portant s p e c ie s on each ty p e 5 7 $ .% ,
and 3 6 .0 $ r e s p e c t iv e ly .
Rose (Rosa arkasana, 22.2%) was important on the
Shale S lop ej S ilv e r Sagebrush (A rtem isia cana, 15*1%) on SagebrushQreasewood.
Browse u se on Grassland was o n ly 1.2%; on th e Clay Slope
6 . 0%.
Grass ranked f i r s t o n ly on the G rassland Type, 96. 9%.
U se' on other
ty p es was: Sagebrush-grassland 2.L%, C lay Slope 6.0%, Shale Slope 15.3%
and Sagebrush-Greasewood 1^.1%.
Rorbs r e c e iv e d the g r e a te s t use on th e Clay Slope 88.0%.
Stem less
Goldenweed, N u tt a ll Goldenweed and Eriogonum (Ei m u ltjeep s) were important
(combined usage 50.1;%).
Forb use on the o th er typ es was: Sagebrush-
gra ssla n d 2.8% ( Phlox h o o d ii) ; Grassland 1.8%; Shale Slope l5«3% (M issouri
Goldenrod, S olidago m is s o u r ie n s is ) j and Sagebrush-Greasewood 27.8%
(Lomatium 21.0% ).
Summer (June, J u ly , August)
Seven rumen -satopies (2 each fo r June and J u ly , 3 fo r August) w"ere
analyzed.
F ive were from animals, c o lle c t e d on Sagebrush-grassland; one
froto the Shale Slope and one from th e GreasewOod Type.
One o f the Sage-
b ru sh -grasslan d c o lle c t io n s was made a f t e r the animal was observed to use
the other two ty p e s .
Seven browpe s p e c ie s c o n s titu te d 32.6% by volume
and 33.1;% by w eigh t o f th e rumen samples*
R ose, Rabbitbrush (Chryso-
-
'
thamnus nau seosus) and Snowberry (Symphoricarpos o e c id e n t a lis ) were im­
p o r ta n t, amounting to 28.9% by volume and 30.2% by w e ig h t.
sen ted 66 „0% by volume and 614. 3% by weighty
id e n t i f i e d .
Forbs rep re­
Twenty-nine s p e c ie s were
Cudweed Sagewort ( lr te m is ia lu d o v ic ia n a ) was important ( 29, 14%
v o l . , 31.3% w t .) , exceed in g a l l oth er food ite m s.
Grass c o n s titu te d 1,1).%
by volume and 2 . 1% by w e ig h t,
Monthly ■d iffe r e n c e s obscured by sea so n a l a n a ly ses are shown in
Figure Iu
Although forbs ranked f i r s t f o r the sea so n , June browse per­
cen tages (£0,2% v o l . , £3.9% w t.) s l i g h t l y exceeded th ose fo r fo r b s .
R ose,
Rabbit brush and Big Sagebrush were im portant ^ am ounting'to 1)7.2% by volume
and 1)9.6% by w e ig h t.
The im portant fo rb s were A ster (A ster sp») (23.3%
v o l . , l£.l)% w t.) and Cudweed Sagewort ( l 6 . 0 , I 6 .I4) ,
The J u ly samples,
contain ed th e g r e a te s t amount o f forb s (90.1% v o l , , 8£.1)% w t . ) .
Meadow
S a l s i f y ( Tragopogon d u b iu s, 21.£% v o l . , 17.3% w t.), Cudweed sagewort
(l9 » l), 2 1 .0 ) and Globemallow (Sphaera le e a c o c c in ia , 1 7 .9 , 1 3 * l) were im­
p o r ta n t.
Forbs a ls o ranked f i r s t fo r the August sam ples, 6 0 . 8%by volume
and 62.7% by w eig h t.
predominant food item .
Cudweed Sagewort (1)0.9% v o l . , 1)1.7% w t.) was the
Important browse s p e c ie s were Snowberry, Rabbit­
brush and R ose, amounting to 3.6.£% by volume and 3£.1% by w eig h t.
A t o t a l o f 3,£91) in sta n c e s o f p la n t use was recorded at. 38 feed in g
s i t e s as f o llo w s : Sagebrush-grass land—*!,3 8 0 observed in s ta n c e s o f u se,
21 s i t e s ; G rassland—92, 3; Shale S lop e— 8£3, 9j Greasewood—1 , 0£7 , I);
Abandoned Meadow— 212, I .
Forbs r e c e iv e d the g r e a te s t u s e , 79.£% o f a l l
o b se r v a tio n s» Forty-one s p e c ie s were rep resen ted .
Cudweed Sagewort was
- 26 *.
th e most im portant, 22.0%.
Browse use was 2 0 .3 $ ; grass
was rep resen ted by 12 s p e c ie s .
0 .1 % ,
The former
Rose was the most im portant, r e c e iv in g
over h a lf o f th e use fo r browse.
S im ila r forage c la s s u se was noted fo r the d if fe r e n t v e g e ta tiv e
ty p e s .
Forbs were predominant fo r a l l ty p es as f o llo w s t
Sagebrush-
gra ssla n d —8l» 8% o f the u s e . G rassland—9 8 .9%, Shale S lop e— 79.7%,
Greasewood—75.3% and Abandoned Meadow—71.8%.
Cudweed Sagewort was the
major food item used on th e Shale Slope (53.3%) and Abandoned Meadow
( 25. 0%) and was im portant on a l l other ty p es except G rassland.
On Grass­
land Stem less A ctin ea (Hymenoxys a c a u lis , 50®5%) and Sw eetclover (MeI i lo t u s a lb a , U5«6%) were the most fr e q u e n tly u se d .
Important fo r b s , oth er
than Cudweed Sagewort, on Sagebrush-grassland were S w eetclover (195U.
o n ly ), Purple M ilkvetch (A stragalus a g r e s t i s ) , and P r a ir ie c lo v e r (P e ta lostemon purpureum) ; on the Shale Blope,. A ster and M issouri Goldenrodj on
Greasewood, P rid k ly le t t u c e (L'actuca s c a r io la ) and Wild L ic o r ic e
(G lycyrrhiza le p id o t a ); on th e Abandoned feadow. A ster (iU commutatus) .
Rose was th e p r in c ip a l browse on th e Sagebrush-grassland, Shale Slope and
■ ' ■ .
•. . ’
Greasewood Typesj 8.0%, 13.3% and 21.3% r e s p e c t iv e ly . On the Abandoned
Meadow, Rose u se (7*5%) ranked second to Snowberry (l7elt% ).
■Grass use was d e te c te d a t o n ly one s i t e (Sagebrush-grassland) during
the summer sea so n .
F a ll (September, O ctober, November)
'I
E igh t rumen samples (3 each fo r September and O ctober, 2 fo r Nov­
ember) were an alyzed .
Four were from anim als c o lle c t e d on Sagebrush-
-2 7 -
grasslan d j fou r from a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
S ix browse sp e c ie s c o n s titu te d
50*h7° by volume and ^2.9# by w eight o f th e sam ples.
Snowberry, Fringed
Sage and S ilv e r Sagebrush were im portant, rep resen tin g Ij.2.1% by volume and
ii.2.7% by w eig h t.
Forbs were h 8 <,b% by volume and 1 £ .6 $ by w eig h t.
four s p e c ie s were rep resen ted .
Twenty-
A lfa lf a (Medicago s a t iv a ) (28.8% v o l . ,
23.2% w t.) and Cudweed Sagewort (llt.1% v o l . , 13.7% w t.) were by fa r the
most im portant.
Grass c o n s titu te d 1*2% by volume and l.Ij.% by w eigh t.
S easonal a n a ly se s obscured important forage c la s s d iffe r e n c e s w ith
r e s p e c t to months (F ig . h) .
Browse ranked f i r s t fo r th e sea so n , but
forb s were f i r s t (61j..8% v o l . , 62.6% w t.) in September and about equal
, (5)0.1% v o l . , Ii9.1% w t.) to browse in O ctober.
In November, Browse ranked
\
f i r s t by fa r (90.1% by volume and 90.6% by w e ig h t).
In d iv id u a l rumen samples show im portant d iffe r e n c e s in the use o f
food ite m s, e s p e c ia lly a l f a l f a .
This forb was the major food item fo r
September 2b and 27 and October 8 and 26 rumen sam ples.
Three were from
animals c o lle c t e d on a l f a l f a f i e l d s ; one from Sagebrush-grassland lo c a te d
about one quarter m ile from an a l f a l f a f i e l d .
A lfa lf a volumes and a ir -
dried, w eights fo r th ese samples were as fo llo w s : 6 2 *1%, 5)2.2%; 62*3%,
!?7e5>%; 56.1%, 56.2%; and 70.9%, 63.0%.
Browse s p e c ie s , e s p e c ia lly
Fringed S age, Snowberry and R ose, made up most o f the remaining sample
p ercen ta g es.
September 11 and October 10 sam ples, from animals c o lle c t e d on Sageb ru sh -grasslan d , each had a browse s p e c ie s as a major food item .
For the
form er, Fringed Sage (UO^JS v o l . ,-33»2% w t . ) was the major item , but f iv e
-2 8 -
f orbs rep resen ted
b y volume, and $ 7 , 1% by w eig h t.
and M issouri Goldenrod were most im portant.
browse s p e c ie s , was th e major food item
Cudweed Sagewqrt
For O ctober, Snowberry, a
by volume and h S . 0% by
A ll browse c o n s titu te d 67. 6$ by volume and 6h* 6% by w eig h t, but
w e ig h t).
Cudweed Sagew ort, a f orb, ranked as the second most im portant item (30»7^
33 * 2% w t e ) e
v o l #}
^
k-
The November 16 sample was from an animal c o lle c t e d on an a l f a l f a
Browse was. the predominant f o o d , 79.2# by volume and QOa6% by
fie ld .
w eig h t.
S ilv e r Sagebrush
v o l . , I4.O<>li% w t.) and Big Sagebrush
(20.7% v o l . , 21.7# w t.) ranked f i r s t and second as food ite m s .
A lfa lfa
(l8 .9 ^ v o l . , I 6 . 8# w t.) ranked as the th ir d most important item .
TWo
oth er fo rb s occurred as tr a c e s .
The November 30 sample was from an anim al c o lle c t e d on Sagebrushg ra ssla n d .
S ilv e r Sagebrush (8 2 .1 # v o l . , 78. 6# w t.) and Fringed Sage
(16.I4# v o l . , .19.5# w t .) , both browse s p e c ie s , were th e predominant fo o d s.
Grass c o n s titu te d th e rem aining 1.5# by volume and 1.9# by w eig h t.
The data from recorded p lan t use are lim ite d to September and rep re­
se n t o n ly the e a r ly f a l l sea so n .
A t o t a l o f 1,178 in s ta n c e s o f use was
recorded a t H s i t e s as fo llo w s : Sagebrush-grassland—572 in sta n c e s o f
u s e , 6 s i t e s j G rassland—78, I ; Shale S lop e—291, 5j Fallow land—237, 2 .
Forbs r e c e iv e d the g r e a te s t u s e , 9 1 .5 # o f th e t o t a l .
were rep resen ted .
u sed .
T w enty-six sp e c ie s
Cudweed Sagewort (hh°3%) was by fa r th e most fr eq u en tly
Browse c o n s titu te d 7.7#.
Grass use was not d e te c te d .
Rose (5*3#) was the most im portant.
-2 9 -
S im ila r forage c la s s u ie occurred on the d if f e r e n t v e g e ta tiv e ty p e s .
Forbs were used predom inantly on. a l l ty p es as fo llo w s : Sagebrush-grass lan d —8606^; GrassIand-=IOO, 0%; Shale S lo p e—95L% Fallow land—99.6%.
Cudweed Sagewort was major food item used on Sagebrush-grassland and the
Shale S lo p e , £6„8% and 67. 7$ r e s p e c t iv e ly .
Sw eetclover (71.8%) rec e iv ed
the g r e a te s t use on Grassland and was im portant (23.6%) on Fallow land .
On the l a t t e r type other im portant fo rb s were Sunflower (H elianthus s p .,
32.1% ), Dandelion ( Taraxacum s p . , 21.1%) and S o w th istle (Sonchus a r v e n s is ,
13.9% ).
Winter (December, January, February)
S ix rumen samples (2 fo r December, I fo r January and 3 fo r February)
were an alyzed .
F ive were from animals c o lle c t e d on Sagebrush-grassland;
one from Sagebrush-Greasewood,
Seven browse s p e c ie s c o n s titu te d 98*2% by
volume and 97.9% by w eight o f the samples*
B ig Sagebrush, Fringed Sage
and S ilv e r Sagebrush were th e major fcSod ite m s , amounting to 93.1% by
volume and 92.8% by w e ig h t.
volume and 0.2% by w eig h t.
w e ig h t.
One forb (Meadow S a ls if y ) made up 0*3% by
Grass rep resen ted 1»5>%' by volume and 1.9% by
^
Browse ranked f i r s t fo r a l l months (F ig . It) as fo llo w s : December—
91.8% by volume and 97.3% by w eight; January—98®It%., 98.8%; February—
98,2%, 97.6%.
B ig Sagebrush, Fringed Sage and S ilv e r Sagebrush were the
th ree major food item s fo r th e December and February sam ples.
E ith er
Fringed Sage or B ig Sagebrush ranked as th e major food item fo r the
in d iv id u a l sam ples.
The January sample, from Sagebrush-Greasewood, had
-3 0 -
S ilv e r Sagebrush (8 1 u l$ v o l . , 8$eh% w t . ) . Fringed Sage (h*7, 3 .3 ) and
E abbitbm sh ( 3 .1 , 3 » l) as the th ree major food item s» Grass occurred as
a tr a c e .
Yearlong
The rumen samples from a l l seasons were averaged.
Twelve browse
s p e c ie s amounted to 36,6% by volume and 60,lj.% by w eig h t.
forb s p e c ie s made up IiO,6% by volume and 36,1% by w eig h t.
F orty-seven
The, g ra sses
c o n s titu te d 2.8% by volume and 3*3% by w e ig h t.
These data su g g est th e fo llo w in g g en era l food h a b its fo r antelope on
the stu d y a rea .
Through la t e f a l l , w in ter and th e f i r s t two months o f spring browse
s p e c ie s , e s p e c ia lly Big Sagebrush, Fringed Sage and S ilv e r Sage, were
th e predominant food .
Forbs were m inor.
Grass was a minor food a t a l l
tim e s , but r e l a t i v e l y g r ea ter u t i l i z a t i o n occurred during sp r in g .
forb s were im portant as food during la t e sp rin g .
Vernal
They were obtained
p r im a r ily from th e C lay S lo p e, Shale Slope and Sagebmsh-Greasewood [types,During summer, fo rb s were the predominant food and the major c la s s
o f forage u t i l i z e d on th e vario u s v e g e ta tiv e ty p e s .
C ertain browse
s p e c ie s . R ose, R abbitbm sh and Snowberry, were im portant.
forb s p e c ie s were u t i l i z e d , but few in any q u a n tity .
A v a r ie ty o f
Cudweed Sagewort
was one o f the most im portant f o r b s .
Through the f i r s t two months o f f a l l fo r b s , p r in c ip a lly Cudweed Sagew ort, were s t i l l the predominant fo o d .
u t i l i z e d A lfa lfa as th e ir major fo o d .
A ntelope using a l f a l f a f i e l d s
The same browse s p e c ie s u t i l i z e d
-3 1 -
in summer tiere im portant as secondary ite m s.
Antelope u sin g rangeland
v e g e ta tio n e x c lu s iv e ly , u t i l i z e d e ith e r browse or fo rb s as th e ir pre­
dominant fo o d .
ite m s .
Fringed Sage or Snowberry were im portant as major food
Cudweed Sagewort was an important secondary item .
D iffe r e n c e s between th e data from recorded p la n t u se and rumen
a n alyses are apparent.
Two fo r b s , Sw eetclover and P r ic k ly l e t t u c e , were
in d ic a te d im portant by th e former tech n iq u e, but n ot by the l a t t e r . This
was a ttr ib u te d to d iffe r e n c e s in a v a i l a b i l i t y .
About 75$ o f the t o t a l
use on Sw eetclover was recorded in 195>i when t h is forb was more abundant
than in 1933.
a rea .
P r ic k ly L ettu ce had extrem ely lim ite d d is tr ib u tio n on th e
About 98$ o f the u se on t h i s p la n t was recorded from one s i t e
along an ir r ig a t io n d it c h .
Browse was in d ic a te d t o have been o f l e s s importance by p la n t use
d ata.
N orris (19U3) concluded, from h is id e n t if ic a t io n s o f dry m a teria l
in stomach sam ples, th a t c o a rse -te x tu r e d p la n ts were d ig e s te d a t a slow er
r a t e , causing t h is type o f forage to be g iv en undue w eigh t as a food by
the a n a ly s is te c h n iq u e .
While th e technique used in t h i s study in v o lv ed
th e id e n t if ic a t io n o f p la n t p a rts b efore d ry in g , the p o s s i b i l i t y o f
d i f f e r e n t i a l d ig e s tio n g iv in g undue w eight to browse s p e c ie s can not be
d isco u n ted .
More o b v io u sly , th e d iffe r e n c e s between th e r e s u lt s from the.
two methods used in t h is stud y were a ttr ib u te d to incom plete sampling o f
fe e d in g s i t e s and record in g use on ro o ted stem s.
S p a rsely v eg eta ted
s i t e s favored d e te c tin g use by d ir e c t o b serv a tio n s or fo llo w in g an telop e
tr a c k s .
The g rea ter abundance o f forbs on th e se s i t e s may have r e s u lte d
-3 2 - •
in t h e ir b ein g given undue w eight as fo o d .
As compared to f orbs^ a more
s a t is f a c t o r y measure o f browse consumption would probably have been
accom plished by record in g use o f le a d e r s , sin c e co n sid era b le numbers on a
s in g le ro o ted stem were in v a r ia b ly u sed .
The importance o f browse as an an telop e food has been reported by
Couey (19^ 6), Buck ( l9 k 7 ) , Einarson ( 19I48) , F e r re l and Leach (1932) and
Mason (1 9 3 2 ).
Buechner (op_. c i t . ) found th a t forbs were th e most im­
p o rta n t food in Texas.
USE OF ALFALFA FIELDS
F ie ld s Used
T hirteen a l f a l f a f i e l d s were w ith in p o r tio n s o f the stu d y area f r e ­
quented by a n telo p e .
During 1933 and 193L two f i e l d s were observed regu?
l a r l y , mornings and e v en in g s, to determine antelope u s e .
The oth ers were
observed as th ey were encountered along r o u te s (d isc u ssed e a r l i e r ) .
A
t o t a l o f 1 ,703 f i e l d ob servation s was recorded.
Antelope were not observed (623 o b serv a tio n s) on 3 o f the 13 f i e l d s .
A ll f iv e were fen ced .
One, apart from in h a b ited ranch b u ild in g s , was
w ith in a fen ce composed o f f iv e strand barbed-wire or woven w ire.
land w ith in the fen ced area was about eq u al to the a l f a l f a acreage.
fe n c e s o f th e oth ers were e ith e r fou r or f iv e strand b arb ed -w ire.
f i e l d s were im m ediately adjacent t o In h a b ited ranch b u ild in g s .
RangeThe
These
Enclosed
rangeland was con fin ed t o the fen ce borders fo r a l l four f i e l d s .
On the e ig h t f i e l d s observed to have been Tised, 2,937 antelope were
recorded fo r 236 o f 1,080 f i e l d o b se r v a tio n s.
For both years r e l a t i v e l y
-3 3 -
g r ea ter use was in d ic a te d fo r the same fou r f i e l d s (N os. 1 - h ) .
Numbers
0L-0^ser v a tjTcms and average numbers o f an telop e per o b serv a tio n fo llo w :
F ie ld No. 1—309, 3.3? F ie ld No. 2—283, 3 .b ; F ie ld No. 3— 7b, b.b? F ie ld
No. b—79} b .b .
F ie ld s iz e ranged from 7 0 .3 to 330 a c r e s .
barbed-wire fen ce en clo sed F ie ld No. 2 .
A f iv e stran d
Antelope were observed to e n ter
and lea v e t h i s f i e l d by craw ling under the bottom wire a t a gate and/or
where the fen ce passed over fou r e ro sio n c u t s .
Measurements from the
ground to the bottom w ire a t the gate gave a maximum h e ig h t o f 17 inches?
a t th e e r o sio n cu ts 20., 2 1 .3 , 16 and 19 in c h e s .
Along th e same fence 19
maximum h e ig h t measurements (ground to bottom w ire) between p o sts aver­
aged 13 in ch es ( l l to 1 6 ).
Four strand barbed-wire fe n c e s en clo sed the
other th ree f i e l d s .
A ntelope experienced l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y in crawling
under th e se f e n c e s .
Upon e n te r in g or le a v in g the f i e l d s th e y h a b itu a lly
used th e same p la c e s along the fe n c e .
Maximum ground t o bottom wire
measurements between b3 p o sts (F ie ld No. b) averaged-16 in ch es (1 2 .3 to
2 2 ).
Iwo p la c e s where w e ll, worn a n te ld p e ■t r a i l s went under the fence
measured 1 7 .3 and 18 in c h e s .
A ll four f i e l d s were apart from in h a b ited
ran ch es. Amounts o f rangeland in clu d ed w ith in the fe n c e s were approxi■
.
.
mateI y equal to or greater than th e a l f a l f a a crea g es.
On the other fou r f i e l d s (Nds. 3 -8 ) r e l a t i v e l y l e s s antelop e use.w as
in d ic a te d .
Numbers o f ob servation s and average numbers o f antelope per
ob servation fo llo w :
F ie ld No.
3—108,
No. 7— 93, 0 .2 ; F ie ld No. 8—60, 2»b«
233 a c r e s .
Only one (No.
3)
O.b? F ie ld No. 6—7b, 0 .2 ; F ie ld
These f i e l d s ranged from 163 to
was observed t o have been u sed both y e a r s.
I t was e n clo sed w ith in a four strand barbed-wire fe n c e .
The amount o f
-3krangeland in the en clo su re was g r ea ter than the a l f a l f a acreage.
f i e l d was adjacent to an in h a b ited ranch.
in 1953 o n ly .
This
F ie ld Nos. 6 and 7 were used
The former had i t s a l f a l f a acreage e n c lo se d w ith in four
and f iv e stran d barbed-wire fen ces and was apart from in h a b ited b u ild in g s .
E nclosed rangeland was con fin ed to fence b ord ers.
'
When n o t u t i l i z i n g
.............................................
a l f a l f a , antelop e in h a b ited an adjacent rangeland p a stu r e .
was a lo n g sid e a w e ll tr a v e le d road.
sheep.
This pasture
In 195k th e - pasIurex was used by
F ie ld No. 7 was en clo sed w ith in four strands o f barbed-wire p rio r
'
to mid-summer 1953 •
x V.-
At t h is tim e a s e c tio n o f woven w ire was placed
around th e w estern end o f the f i e l d .
The remainder o f the fen ce was
converted to f iv e stran d s by th e a d d itio n o f a bottom w ip e.-. The rancher
owning the f i e l d rep orted th a t antelop e use during 1951 and 1952 had been
heavy, w ith about 60 and 100 head in v o lv ed fo r the two y ea rs R e sp e c tiv e ly .
■
Subsequent ob servation s a fte r the fen ce improvement in 1953 (12) and 38
ob servation s in 1951 in d ic a te d th a t the f i e l d was no lo n g er u sed .
f i e l d was apart from in h a b ited ranch b u ild in g s .
This
The amount o f en closed
rangeland was g r ea ter than the a l f a l f a a crea g e.
F ie ld No. 8 was used during 1951 o n ly .
In 1953 a ccess was apparent­
l y prevented by a woven w ire fence along the w est boundary.
In 1951
antelope were observed to crawl under a fo u r strand barbed-wire fence
where i t jo in ed the woven w ire on th e southw est corner o f th e f i e l d .
This f i e l d was apart from in h a b ited ranch b u ild in g s .
was con fin ed to fen ce b ord ers.
E nclosed rangeland
A fter u t i l i z i n g the f i e l d , antelope were
observed to h a b itu a lly retu rn to rangeland o u tsid e th e fe n c e .
-3f>The data su ggested th a t a l f a l f a f i e l d s lo c a te d in the immediate prox­
im ity o f in h a b ited ranches were l e s s su b je c t to antelop e u s e .
have been due to d istu rb an ces r e s u ltin g from human a c t i v i t y .
This could
F ie ld s apart
from in h a b ited ran ch es, w ith con sid era b le amounts o f rangeland en closed
w ith in the fe n c e , were su b jec te d to the g r e a te s t u s e .
F ie ld s s im ila r ly
lo c a te d , but having rangeland con fin ed to .f e n c e b ord ers, r e c e iv e d r e la ­
t iv e ly le s s u se.
This su g g e sts th a t a n telop e p referred undisturbed s i t u ­
a tio n s where both a l f a l f a and ap p reciab le amounts o f rangeland were r e a d i­
l y a v a ila b le w ith in the same fe n c e .
Use o f f i e l d s where rangeland w ith in
the fen ce was lim ite d was p o s s ib ly c u r ta ile d by the n e c e s s it y o f fr e q u e n tly
craw ling under a fen ce to have a ccess t o both a l f a l f a and rangeland.
A pparently rangeland i s e s s e n t i a l to th e pronghorn.
th e food h a b its stu d y .
This was su g g ested by
Even antelop e c o lle c t e d from a l f a l f a f i e l d s had
consumed s u b s ta n tia l amounts o f rangeland p la n ts .
Furthermore, antelope
u sin g a l f a l f a f i e l d s were noted to h a b itu a lly bed on a d ja cen t rangeland.
E xceptions to t h is were n oted .
An a d u lt male was observed t o prevent a
group o f fem ales and fawns from le a v in g a f i e l d , fo r c in g them to bed in
th e a l f a l f a .
Other ex cep tio n s occurred o n ly where adjacent fa llo w land or
s p a r se ly v e g e ta te d areas w ith in th e f i e l d were a v a ila b le .
This su g g ests
th a t an telop e have an a version to bedding in dense v e g e ta tio n .
V'
•'
Fence c h a r a c t e r is tic s in some in s ta n c e s undoubtedly determined
whether an a l f a l f a f i e l d was u sed .
A ccess to seven o f the e ig h t f i e l d s
used was by craw ling under th e bottom w ire o f four strand barbed-wire
fen ces.
A ccess to th e other was under th e bottom wire o f a f iv e strand
-3 6 -
barbed-wire fen ce e ith e r a t a gate or a t one o f fou r e ro sio n c u t s .
!fences
composed o f s e c tio n s o f woven w ire and f i v e strand barbed-wire were appar­
e n t ly r e sp o n sib le fo r th e non-use o f two f i e l d s .
Both were apart from i n ­
h a b ited ranches and had la r g e amounts o f rangeland e n clo sed w ith in the
fe n c e . . The rancher who owned one o f the f i e l d s rep orted th a t antelope
had been excluded from the f i e l d s in c e IpljB when the fen ce was constructed .
Use on th e oth er had been heavy p r io r to co n v ertin g i t s fo u r strand fen ce
to f iv e stran d s by adding a bottom w ire (a s e c tio n o f woven w ire was a ls o
added).
A ntelope ceased to use t h i s f i e l d a f t e r fen ce m o d ific a tio n .
Antelope were not observed to gain a ccess t o any f i e l d a t a p oin t
p r o te c te d by woven w ir e .
Buechner (ojo. c i t .) considered sheep -proof
fe n c e s (itoven w ire) e f f e c t iv e b a r r ier s t o antelop e in Texas.
He a lso ob­
served th a t an telop e r e a d ily crawled under four or f iv e stran d fen ces on
c a t t l e range.
On t h is stu d y area f iv e strand fe n c e s were apparently
e f f e c t iv e b a r r ie r s excep t a t p o in ts where unusual clearan ce was perm itted;
e . g . , e ro sio n cu ts and g a t e s .
Seven ground t o bottom w ire measurements a t
p la c e s along f i v e strand fe n c e s observed t o "stop" antelop e averaged 9*5
in ch es (? to I l j .
Four strand fen ces were apparently in e f f e c t iv e b a r r ier s.
Only one a n te lo p e , a la r g e ad u lt m ale, was observed to have been "stopped"
along a fou r stran d fe n c e .
Ground to bottom wire measurements a t the two
p la c e s were 16 and IJj„£ in c h e s .
Fourteen measurements along fou r strand
fe n c e s where an telop e were observed to craw l under averaged 17 in ch es
(lU .5 to 2 3 .5 ) .
The ch est depths (b r is k e t to top o f th e should ers) o f £3 antelop e
-3 7 -
werfe measured in October 195>lt a t a checking s t a t io n .
Twenty fawns aver­
aged 11 in c h e s (9»!? to 12.75?); Itlj a d u lts and y e a r lin g s 13 in ch es (ll»75? to
I U .^ ).
•
Only one a n te lo p e , an a d u lt m ale, was observed to jump fe n c e s .
ob servation s were record ed .
Seven
Ground to top w ire measurements a t four
p o in ts o f jumping were jj2, Ijlj, lj5> and h6 in c h e s .
Rouse (l9!?h) reported
th a t "many o f the antelop e in southern C arter County, Montana, have
learn ed t o jump fe n c e s up to Ij5> in ch es in heigh Tb".
He rep orted th a t adult
an telop e commonly jumped fe n c e s to u t i l i z e a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
One o f the
a l f a l f a f i e l d s , rep orted as nbt being used by antelope in th a t area , had a
36 in ch high woven w ire fen ce topped w ith three stran d s o f Ioarbed-wire
spaced 6 in ch es a p a rt.
Buetim e r .(o p . c i t . ) c ite d F ish er and oth ers fo r
records o f an telop e jumping fe n c e s in T exas.
He concluded from h is study
t h a t , "Most an telop e seem unaware o f t h e ir a b i l i t y to jump fo r th ey o fte n
d ie o f sta r v a tio n on s e v e r e ly overgrazed sheep ranges ra th er than jump
sh eep -p roof f e n c e s ♦"
Numbers Using F ie ld s
:
■ ■
The maximum s iz e o f antelop e groups observed on each o f th e a l f a l f a
f i e l d s u sed su ggested the numbers o f anim als in v o lv ed in depredation .
The
mayiTnnm s iz e o f groups and the d ates th e y were observed on th e seven f i e l d s
used in 195?3 were as f o llo w s ; F ie ld No. I —33» September 8 , 13; Field- No♦
2—22, October 22, 23; F ie ld No, 3—L i, September 11; F ie ld No. L—22,
August 30; F ie ld No-. 5?—8 , August 13; F ie ld No. 6—l h , August 28; F ie ld
No. 7—11, August 1 3 .
For the s ix f i e l d s used in 195>L sim ila r data were
-3 8 -
as fo llo w s : F ie ld No* I —y~>, September 30; F ie ld No® 2 —1 6 3 September 3Or
October I , Ii5
F ie ld No. 3 —35>5 September 7; F ie ld No. 1|—1|05 September
6; F ie ld No. £—95 August 9 5 September 30; F ie ld No. 8—3lt5 September I li5
17.
Tagged anim als (se e s e c tio n on movements) and com position counts in ­
d ic a te d th a t F ie ld s No. 3 and 8 were used by the same a n telo p e »
Other
f i e l d s were observed to have been used by d is t in c t an telop e groups.
These data su g g est th a t approxim ately l £ l antelope were in v o lv ed in
a lf a l f a f i e l d depredation a fte r midsummer 191)3, 135 in 1951|.
These f i g ­
ures rep re sen t 39% and 31% o f the 1953 and 195L summer p op u lation s r e ­
s p e c t iv e ly .
D iffe r e n c e s in Numbers U sing F ie ld s and I n t e n s it ie s o f F ie ld Use
Seasonal and in season d iffe r e n c e s in the numbers o f an telop e u t iliz in g ,
a l f a l f a f i e l d s and the i n t e n s i t i e s o f f i e l d use were i l l u s t r a t e d by data
from r eg u la r ob servation s o f F ie ld N os. I and 2 during 1953 and 1952l
■( Table 3 ) .
group s i z e .
An in d ic a tio n o f the numbers u t i l i z i n g f i e l d s was the average
D iffe r e n t i n t e n s i t i e s o f use were in d ic a te d by average numbers
per o b serv a tio n .
Antelope were n ot observed on th e f i e l d s during A p r il.
From May to
August r e l a t i v e l y few (average group s iz e I|«0) u t i l i z e d th e f i e l d s .
In ­
t e n s i t i e s o f use were low , averaging le s s than 0 .5 an telop e per observe• .:v.
t io n .
Low i n t e n s i t i e s ( l . l i ) were s t i l l in d ic a te d fo r th e f i r s t h a lf o f
August, but numbers u t i l i z i n g th e f i e l d s had apparently in crea sed ( l l . O ) .
A s l i g h t in c r ea se in numbers (1 2 .5 ) u t ilis in g - f i e l d s and a marked in c r ea se
in the in t e n s it y o f use (7.1|) occurred during the l a s t h a lf o f A ugust.
-3 9
Table 3 .
Seasonal d iffe r e n c e s in numbers o f an telo p e u t i l i z i n g a l f a l f a
f i e l d s and i n t e n s i t i e s of" f i e l d use as in d ic a te d by th e s iz e
o f an telop e groups and numbers per o b serv a tio n .
Period
T otal Mo.
ob ser­
v a tio n s
Mo. observ.
an telop e
seen
Mo. o f
an telo p e
observed
Av. Mo".
antelope
per ob­
se r v a tio n '
Av. group
s iz e
1 s t h a lf Apr.
17
0
2nd h a lf Apr.
22
0
1 s t h a lf May
Uo
2
6
0.2
3.0(1-5)
2nd h a lf May
3
19
0.6
6.3(U-10y
1 s t h a lf June
3U
38
10
16
o.U
I .6(1-5)
2nd h a lf June
72
h
6
. 0.1
1.5(l-2)
1 s t h a lf J u ly
61
7
35
0.6
5 . 0 (1- 10)
2nd h a lf J u ly
#
9
59
1 .1 ■
6.5(1-10)
1 s t h a lf Aug.
ft
7
77
i.U
1 1 . 0 ( 7- 22)
2nd h a lf Aug.
6?
Ui
5ll
7.U
12.5(1-35)'
1 s t h a lf S ep t.
66
30
529
8 .0
17.6(13-33) ■
2nd h a lf S ep t.
33
39
706
13.3
1 s t wk. Oct.
ll
T otals
392
.
7
7U
153
2,038
6.7
20.2(15-32)
1 0 . 6 ( 1- 16)
-LoI n t e n s it ie s o f use in crea sed ( 8 .0 J and g r ea ter numbers (1 7 .6 ) u t i l i z e d the
f i e l d s during th e f i r s t h a lf o f September.
The g r e a te s t numbers (2 0 .2 )
and the h ig h e s t ^ in t e n s it ie s o f use (13*3) were in d ic a te d fo r the l a s t h a lf
o f September.
A fter October I , both the numbers o f antelop e ( l 0 .6 ) and
the' i n t e n s i t i e s o f f i e l d use (6 .7 ) decreased .
Sex and Age C la sse s Using F ie ld s
The sex and age c la s s e s in vo lv ed in depredation were determined in
195)3 and 195>L.
r eco g n ized .
Adult m ale, y e a rlin g m ale, fem ale and fawn c la s s e s were
R e la tiv e ly sm a ll and undeveloped horns d is tin g u is h e d y e a rlin g
males from ad u lt m ales.
The absence o f a dark th ro a t patch and sm all
horns separated fem ales from m ales.
s iz e .
Fawns were reco g n ized by th e ir sm all
C la s s if ic a t io n s were made w ith ^a b in o cu la r or a s p o ttin g scope.
Various a s s o c ia tio n s o f th e d if fe r e n t se x and age c la s s e s comprised groups.
A t o t a l o f 30 " sin g les" and 210 groups was observed.
The animals recorded as " sin g les" were as fo llo w s ; fe m a le s, 20; adu lt
m ales, 9, y e a r lin g m ales, I .
The variou s a s so c ia tio n s com prising groups
and th e number o f tim es each was observed were as fo llo w s ; one adult m alefem ale ( s ) w ith or w ith out fawns—II46, fem ale ( s ) -fawn ( s ) —3 3 , two or more
m ale-fem ale ( s ) w ith or w ithout fawns—10; two or more fem ales—8; two or
more m ales—L; two or more fawns—3; one y e a r lin g m ale-fem ale( s ) w ith or
w ith ou t fawns—3 j one or more males - f awn( s } —3 «
Through A p ril to September 26 " sin g les" (20 fem a les, 6 a d u lt m ales)
and 100 groups were observed on a l f a l f a f i e l d s ; through September to
'October 7 , It s in g le s (3 a d u lt m ales, I y e a r lin g male) and HO groups.
- U iP rlor to September, 6^ o f th e grbtips seen on f i e l d s were one a d u lt m alefem ale (s ) w ith or w ith ou t fawnfe A ss o c ia tio n s.
Other group a s so c ia tio n s
and th e number o f tim es each was seen were as fo llo w s : fe m a le (s )-fa w n (s )—
2k; two or more fem a les—8; two or more fawns—2; two or more males ( l
a d u lt, I y e a r lin g ] -fe m a le ( s ) w ith or w ith ou t fawns—I .
During September
and October4 8l o f th e groups seen on f i e l d s were the one a d u lt m alefem ale ( s ) w ith or w ith out fawns a s s o c ia tio n ; 9, two or more fem ales; 9,
two or more m ales -fe m a le ( s ) w ith or w ith out fawns;
U5 two
dr more males;
3 , one y e a r lin g m ale-fem ale( s ) w ith or w ithout fawns; 3 , one or more
m ales-faw n (s); and I , two or more fawns
The data show th a t a l f a l f a f i e l d s Wdre u t i l i z e d by a l l sex and age
c la s s e s .
Fem ales, fawns and a d u lt males were the segment o f the popu­
la t io n most in v o lv e d .
The one adu lt m ale-fem ale(s ) w ith or w ith out fawns
a s s o c ia tio n was th e p r in c ip a l group.
P rio r t o September o n ly one in sta n ce
o f more than one male in a group u sin g f i e l d s was record ed .
During Sep­
tember and October v a rio u s a s s o c ia tio n s o f males ( ad u lt or y e a r lin g ) w ith
m ales, fem a les, fem ales and fawns and fawns were observed.
The apparent in c r ea se in the number o f males u sin g a l f a l f a f ie ld s
during September and October was in d ic a te d to co in c id e w ith the ru t (see
la t e r s e c tio n ) and the breeding season®
coverin g fem ales were record ed .
and 22.
F ive ob servation s o f adult males
The d ates were September 1 6 , 20, 20, 21
An a d d itio n a l o b servatio n fo r October I , was rep orted to the
w r ite r by E. L. Eng, Montana F ish and Game b i o l o g i s t .
Lim ited use o f a l f a l f a f i e l d s by y e a r lin g males and more than one
a d u lt male in the company o f fem ales and fawns was su g g ested .
I h is was
a ttr ib u te d to c e r ta in a d u lt males ap p aren tly being in to le r a n t o f other
m ales.
Adult males a s so c ia te d w ith fem ales or fem ales and fawns were ob- '
served to a c t iv e ly pursue y e a r lin g s o r .o th e r adu lt males attem pting to
a s s o c ia te w ith the group.
This behavior was observed on 2% o cca sio n s from
May 15> to October. 6 . . A ll Months excep t June were rep resen ted .
One o f the
ob servation s was o f a y e a r lin g male attem pting to e x p e l th ree other year­
lin g m ales.
a d u lt m ales.
Twenty-four were o f ad u lt m ales chasing y e a r lin g or other
Degrees o f in to le ra n ce were observed.
Two a d u lt m ales,
(each w ith fem ale-faw n a s s o c ia te s ) u t i l i z i n g the same f i e l d , appeared to
t o le r a t e each o th e r .
Both were observed to chase y e a r lin g m ales.
chased a lon e a d u lt male ignored by th e o th er .
One
In two c a s e s , where more
than one ad u lt male h a b itu a lly used the.sam e f i e l d , d if f e r e n t p o rtio n s o f
the f i e l d were u t i l i z e d .
Two males in 1953 and one in 195L were apparent­
l y s u c c e s s fu l in keeping a l l oth er males o f f the f i e l d s th e y and th e ir
r e s p e c tiv e fem ale-faw n a s s o c ia te s u t i l i z e d .
These data su g g ested th a t the
behavior o f c e r ta in adu lt males in flu e n c e d f i e l d use by other males
( e it h e r as in d iv id u a ls or as groups) and fem ale-fawn groups a sso c ia te d
w ith other a d u lt m ales.
Movements in R e la tio n to A lfa lf a F ie ld s
To ob ta in inform ation on movements, ob servation s o f marked or o th er­
w ise reco g n iza b le in d iv id u a ls were record ed .
In 1953 (May I? to June 6 ) ,
26 fawns were lo c a te d (F ig . 5) by s y s te m a tic a lly searching areas where
a d u lt fem ales were s e e n .
They were marked by a tta ch in g p la s t ic markers.
-U3-
F ig .
Antelope fawn in Sagebrush-grassland
ty p e.
as describ ed by Johnson ( l 9 S l ) , to e it h e r th e r ig h t or l e f t ear w ith a
m etal sto c k ta g .
A ta g w ith ou t a marker was p laced in th e opp osite e a r .
S ix tee n fawns were marked in 19SU (May 26 to May S i ) .
The v e g e ta tiv e
typ es and the number o f fawns lo c a te d on each were as fo llo w s : Sagebrushgrasslan d —335 Sagebrush-Greasewood—
Shale S lop e—I .
Greasewood—2; G rassland—I;
C ertain ad u lts were reco g n iza b le by horn p e c u lia r it ie s
(9 m ales) or a p h y sic a l deform ity ( l fem ale) .
A b in ocu lar or a sp o ttin g
scope was employed to id e n t if y marked or reco g n iza b le in d iv id u a ls .
The
maximum d ista n ce a marked animal was id e n t if ie d in 1933 was 332 yards
(p a ced ).
A 20-power sp o ttin g scope was u sed .
In 193U a marked fawn was
id e n t if ie d a t approxim ately 300 yards (map measure) w ith a UO-power sco p e.
-a Most id e n t if ic a t io n s were made at l e s s than 200 yards ^
For both years L88 r e lo c a tio n s (o b serv a tio n s a f t e r th e i n i t i a l mark­
in g or r e c o g n itio n ) were recorded.
Only I4U9 o f 31 in d iv id u a ls (21 marked,
10 r e c o g n iz a b le ), each r e lo c a te d f iv e or more tim es, were considered ade­
quate fo r movement a n a ly s e s.
F ifte e n o f the 21 marked in d iv id u a ls (as
fawns and/or y e a r lin g s ) and seven o f th e te n reco g n iza b le a d u lts were ob­
served to use a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
The maximum d ista n ce each was seen from th e
f i e l d used was p lo tte d on a e r ia l p h o to s.
For the oth ers ( s i x marked,
th ree rec o g n iz a b le) n ot observed to use f i e l d s , the maximum and minimum
d ista n c e s each was seen from th e n e a r e st a l f a l f a f i e l d was p lo t t e d .
The
r e s u lt s are shown in Table U.
The average maximum d ista n c e th e 15> marked in d iv id u a ls (lit as fawns,
I as a y e a r lin g ) were in d ic a te d to. have moved to or from th e f i e l d s th ey
-Jused was 2 .2 m iles (l„ 3 to 3 . 8 ) , the 7 reco g n iza b le a d u lts 2 .5 m iles (O.Lt
to !4 .6 ).
For the animals n o t observed to use f i e l d s , the minimum d istan ces
the s i x marked in d iv id u a ls ( f iv e as fawns, one as a y e a r lin g ) were seen
from a l f a l f a f i e l d s averaged 1 ,0 m iles (0 .1 to 2 .0 ) , th e maximum from
th ese f i e l d s 3 .0 m ile s ( l . 2 to U .U ).
The minimum and maximum d ista n c e s
fo r the th ree reco g n iza b le a d u lt males (n o t observed on f i e l d s ) averaged
1 .0 m iles (0 .5 t o 1 .7 ) and 2 .1 m iles (1 .2 to 3 .2 ) r e s p e c t iv e ly .
The data su g g est th a t on t h is area th e d ista n c e s th a t antelope had
t o t r a v e l was n ot the d ecid in g fa c to r in ^jieir use o f an a l f a l f a f i e l d .
A ll 15 o f the marked in d iv id u a ls were in d ic a te d to have tr a v e le d g r ea ter .
d ista n c e s to or from a f i e l d than"No. 31 (n ot u sin g a f i e l d ) would have
1
Table Lu . The maximum d ista n c e s 22 antelop e were seen from th e a l f a l f a
f i e l d s th ey- Used and th e maximum and minimum d ista n c e s 9 (not
. u sin g a l f a l f a f i e l d s ) were seen from the n e a r e st f i e l d .
Marked
in d iv .
No.
D ate
marked
2(M)** S/17
3(F)** S/21
U(F)
S/22
S(F) . S/23
6(F)
S/23
S/2S
S/2S
s/26
7(F)
8 (M)
9(F)
Il(M )
S/27
S/28
S/28
IS(M)
16 (M)
18(F)
S /31
S /31
19(F)
6/2
22(M) '
26(M)
6/6
S/28
S/28
S/29
S/29
S/30
31(F)
32(F)
3S(M)
38 (M)
Ul(M)
U2(F)
22(6/21-9/23)
l8 ( 6 /S - 9 /2 2 )
S( 7 /9 - 9 /1 7 )
S ( 7 /9 - 9 /1 7 ).
l S ( 7/ 2- l 2/ 26)
2 2 (6 /1 8 -9 /2 3 )
1 1 (6/ 22- 9/ 1 8 )
1 0 (7 /2 0 -9 /1 8 )
1 9 (6 /1 -9 /2 3 )
l8(6/S-9/22)
2 (8 /2 -9 /U )
29(6/21-9/23)
D is ta n c e s seen from f i e l d s
(m ile s )
Minimum
Maximum
on No. I
on No. I
0 .6 o f No. 2
on No. I
1
on No. 2
1 2 (S /2 3 -1 0 /7 ) 0 .1 * o f No. 2
2 .0 o f No. 2
13( 6/ 13- 10/ 7 ) oh No. U
on No-. I
on No. U
3 ( 6 / l S - 9 / l 6 ) on No. U
on No. I
on No. 2
S(6/lS-9/2) 2.0 o f No. U
on No. I
7 (7 /S -1 0 /S ). O.S o f No. 2
lS(7/U-10/6) on Nos. 3 & 8
S(7/U-io/6) .1 .1 o f No. U
9 ( 7/ 11- 10/ 6 ) oh Nos. 3 & 8
18(6/ i U-io /U) on No. I
8 (7 /U -1 0 /7 ) on No. U
1.7
i.U
2 .u
i.U
3.0
3.6*
3.2 .
3.8*
IeU
i.S
'3.8* '
l.S
3.0
u.u*
1.7
1 .2
2.2
3.3
2 .S
2.7
1 .3
Date
firs t
re c o g .
8/8.
S (8 /9 -9 /1 9 )
U A S ' S(S/26^9/l7)
I(F )
2 (M)
3 (M)
U(M)
7/3
7/lU
' 7 /2 1
S(M)
7 (M)
8.(M)
9 (M)
IO(M)
2U(6 /2 1 -9 /2 3 )
1 9 (7 /1 8 -9 /2 3 )
S ( 7 / l - 7 / 9 ) ..
S /31
Recog.
a d u lts
No. ■
6(M)
No. o f r e lo c a ti o n s
19S3 "
:
19SU
.
7/23
7/26
6/13
7/26
8/2
on Nos. 3 & 6
on No. U
lS ( 7 /l7 - 9 /2 U ) on No. 3
6(7/lS-9/lU) 1 3 (6 /2 S -1 0 /S ) OoS o f No. I
on No. U '
1 2 (7 /2 1 -9 /2 3 } ‘
on No. 2
1 6 (7 /2 6 -9 /2 2 )
. ,
2 ( 7/ 27- 8/ 2) 1 1 (6 /1 3 -1 0 /7 ). 1*7 o f No. U
11(6/2S-10/S) on Mo. I
9 (7 /2 8 -1 0 /7 ) tin No. U
1 3 (8 /6 -1 0 /6 ) 0»7 o f No. U
# Movements as a y e a r lin g
■io? M - Male; T - Female
12(S /2 8 -9 /2 )
3.7
U06
0.9
1.2U .l
o.U
3.2
2.1
1.8
2.0
had to t r a v e l to reach a f i e l d .
S ix , u sin g f i e l d s , tr a v e le d g rea ter d i s ­
tan ces to or from a f i e l d than would have been n ecessa ry fo r No. k ( t h is
fawn may have d ied e a r ly ) , two g r ea ter d is ta n c e s than No. 8 .
Five o f th e
reco g n iza b le a d u lts tr a v e le d g rea ter d ista n c e s than would have been
n e c essa ry fo r Male No. I , four g rea ter d is ta n c e s than No. 10 and th ree
g r ea ter d ista n c e s than No. 7»
More e x te n s iv e movements fo r y e a r lin g s than fo r fawns was su ggested
by the data from the four marked in d iv id u a ls (2 malep, 2 fem a les) which
were r e lo c a te d during th e two s u c c e ssiv e y e a r s.
The wandering ten d en cies
o f y e a r lin g d eer, e s p e c ia lly m ales, has been reported by Leopold e t a l
(1951).
,
Some o f the fa c to r s in flu e n c in g movements in r e la t io n to f i e l d s were
in d ic a te d by th e a s s o c ia tio n h a b its and movements o f th e v a rio u s sex and
age c la s s e s .
The fo llo w in g data i l l u s t r a t e th ese d if f e r e n c e s .
Female-fawn groups h a b itu a lly using, a l f a l f a f i e l d s
The 1S> marked faw ns, observed t o use f i e l d s , were m o stly a sso c ia te d
w ith fem ale-faw n groups.' The numbers o f in d iv id u a ls com prising groups
v a r ie d from time t o tim e.
Fawn No. 18 was observed to have been a sso c­
ia t e d w ith one group p r io r to mid-August and w ith another a f t e r th a t d a te .
The movement behavior o f th ese groups, ch a ra cterized by marked fawns, was
con sid ered to r ep resen t the general p a tte rn o f movements fo r fem ale-fawn
groups.
The extreme range ,pf the movements (th e g r e a te s t diam eter o f th e
area tr a v e le d over) f o r 13 fawns (2 were tw ins o f oth er marked faw ns),
a s so c ia te d in fem ale-faw n groups, averaged 2 .7 m iles ( 1 .5 to 3*7)«
The
com position o f fem ale- f atm groups and the movements are i l lu s t r a t e d by the
complete h is t o r y o f Fatm No. 26 in Table 5>.
Figure 6k shows th e movements
g r a p h ic a lly .
Female-fawn groups were c h a r a c t e r is t ic a lly attended by one ad u lt
m ale.
This was rep orted fo r an telop e in Texas by Buechner (op® c i t . } .
Adult male No® I attended the group (c h a r a c ter iz e d by Fawn No. 26) o n ly
a t th e w estern lim it o f th e ir movements (r e lo c a tio n s No.
6a ) .
1 1 , 13—F ig .
Another ad u lt male attended th e group when th e y were u sin g F ie ld
No. I , or were in the area extendin g from the v i c i n i t y o f th e f i e l d to
the ea stern lim it o f th e ir movements.
The movement p a tte rn su ggested th a t
the u se o f F ie ld No® I c o n s titu te d e it h e r a sea so n a l ex te n sio n or i n ­
t e n s if ie d use on th e northern edge o f the summer home range.
Data from
oth er marked fawns in v o lv ed in f i e l d use showed a s im ila r p a t t e r n ..
Adult males h a b itu a lly u sin g f i e l d s
R ecognizable males No. 3 , 6 and 9 were observed to h a b itu a lly use
a lfa lfa f ie ld s .
The extreme movements fo r th e s e were l e s s e x te n siv e than
th o se fo r fem ale-faw n groups, averaging 1.3 m iles (o.-7 ,to 2 .0 ) .
These
males were c h a r a c t e r is t ic a lly a s so c ia te d w ith fem ale-faw n ,grbups or
occurred alone on r e l a t i v e l y sm all a r e a s.
given in Table 6 ,
Data fo r a d u lt male No, 6 are
Figure 6B shows the movements g r a p h ic a lly .
P ositive-
id e n t if ic a t io n s in d ic a te d th a t t h i s male occupied the area in the v i c i n i t y
o f F ie ld No. 2 (the f i e l d he used) from J u ly 23 to September 22. .On the
former date a d is tin g u is h in g a c ce sso r y "prong” was noted on h is l e f t horn
providing a b a s is fo r subsequent i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s .
I t i s b e lie v e d th a t he
■> ‘ /V. •
Table
H
P?
IA
The' com position o f groups a s so c ia te d w ith Fawn No0 26 and th e ir movements
by relocations" o f Fawn_ No . 26. _-x-M - Male I
Females and fawns; SB-GL "land;
— Grassland; GW - Greasewood; S.S-. --S h a le S lo p e.________________
Dates Marked" or reco g n iza b le No. and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f a l l
V egetative
a s s o c ia te s
_____ a s s o c ia te s
R elo ca tio n r e lo type r e - ;
Adults Females Fawns A du lt Y earling
No.
cated Fawns No.
lo c a te d on
malemale
SB-GL
5
h
6 /2 1 2, 5, 1 1 , 12
1
TI
6/2 2
2
GL
21
17
7 /3 " 2, 5, 1 1, 12
3
SB-GL
8
8
I
.
7/16 2 , 3
U
11
8
I
*M No, h
lh
7/18 3
$
11
I
10
Ir
7/22 3 ' "
6
11
6
I.
h
7/27 5 , U
7
11
I
3
7
8
7/31 2
G/W
U
2
5
8/2
9
SB-GL
10
I
n
10
2, 5, U
8A
S .S .
I
11
M No. U 13
8/6
.11
SB-GL
12
I
8
8 /9
T2
2! 5, 11
S .S .
I
M No, U U
9
8/12
13
■
A
lfa lfa
I
6
7
s/m 2 , 3
IU
SB-GL
I
12
Th
8/17 2 , 3 ,
15
M
10
11
8 /2 1 2 , 3 , 18
16
I
A
lfa
lfa
10
13
8/2L .3, 18
17
SB-GL
I .
10
13
8/28 2 , 5 , 11 "
-18
A lfa lfa
I
11
11
8/2 9 2 , 3 , 5 , 18
19
20
8 /3 1
A lfa lfa
I
28**
21
2 , 3 , 5 , H , 18
9/h
SB-GL
I
IU
22
9/5 2 , 3 , 5 , 1 1 , 18
.A
lfalfa
I.
lit
15
9/17 2 , 3 , 5
23
»
I
28* *
9/18 3 , 18
2h
Ii
I
30**
9 /1 9 2 , 3 , 5 , 18
25
it
I
.8
15
9 /2 0 2 , 3 , 5 , 1 1 , 18
26
H
I
16 ..
13
9 /2 1 3 , 5 , 11, 18
27
it
I
31**
9/22 3 , 5 , 11, 18
28
SB-GL
2
%
15
9/23 2 , 3 , 5 , 11, 18
29
as in d ic a te d
S agebrush-grass-
D istance (m iles)
from previous
s i t e seen
0 .2
0 .8
1 .1
1 .0
l.h
1 .0
0 .5
0 .6
0 .3
0 .2
2.5
Ool
0 .1
l.h
o.h
1 .0
1 .3
Ool
0 .1
1 .2
1.2
1 .2
0 .0
bop
0.0
0.0
0 .0
0.5
I:
fv
-4 9 -
alfalfa
f
/
J
F ig . 6 .
®
MARKED
®
I NI T I AL
O
NUMBER
mi l e
RECOGNITION
OF S UBSEQUENT
RELOCATIONS
Diagrams showing movement p a ttern s o f antelop e
as in d ic a te d by s ig h t r ec o r d s. A. Faxm Mo. 26
and a s s o c ia t e s . B. Adult male No. 6.
Table 6 .
The com position o f -groups a s s o c ia te d w ith Adult Male No. 6 and h is movements.
No. and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f
R elo ca tio n ™
" B ates " Marked a s s o c ia te s
" a l l a sso c ia te s'
No.
r e lo c a te d
- Fawns Nb. '
' Females'
Fawns'
I ’
2
.3
h
s.6
7
8
9
10
Il
12
13
Ih
19
16
7/23
7 /2 6
7/27
7 /31
8/]_.
8 /3
8 /8
8 /1 6
8/17
8/19
8/2h
8/2 8
8 /3 1
9/h
9 /7
9 /16
9/22
S 9 19
6> 19
19
6 ,1 9
S3 19
6 , 19
S 3 19
7
9
I -
6 .
3
I
5
2
$
8
7
9
11
12
2
8
I
h
6
2
h
h
6
6
8
8
8
9
V egetative
type r e lo c a te d on
GW ■
GW
SB-GL
Il
GL
SB-GL
GW ■
A lf a lf a
11
G-W
F .L .
A lf a lf a
F .L .
Al fa l fa
Ii
Ii
Il
G W - Greasewood ty p e 3 SB-GE - Sagebrush -g ra ssland; F .L . - fa llo w lan d .
D istance (m iles)
from previous
s i t e seen
R ecognized
0*0
0*6
0 .1
0 .6
0 .5
0 ,7
0*3
0 .1
0 .1
0 .1
0 .0
0 .0
Ooh
0 .3
0*3
0*0
had occupied the same area as e a r ly as A p ril 6 .
An a d u lt male was seen '
to jump a fen ce in t h is area on A p ril Ss May 12, and J u ly I ,
Subsequent
ob servation s o f male Ho. 6 rev ea led th a t he jumped fe n c e s .
The data from a l l th ree o f th e se reco g n iza b le males suggested th a t
c e r ta in ad u lt males were app arently attach ed to a d e f in it e " te r r ito r y " .
Einarson (op . c i t ) and Mc le a n (l9b b ) noted t h is b eh a v io r.
Further e v i ­
dence (se e previous s e c tio n ) th a t fem ale-faw n groups were not "permanent­
ly" attach ed to the " territo ry " o f a given male was provided by Fawns No.
6 and 1 9 .
These fawns were observed in groups a s so c ia te d w ith Male No, 6
during la t e J u ly , la t e August' and September (Table 6 ) .
served w ith Male No. 6 from Ju ly 2? to August 28.
They were not ob-r
During t h is period th e y
were seen in fem ale-faw n groups, a tten d ed by another m ale, 2 .8 m iles from
th e f i e l d on
August 3 J 3 -U m iles from th e f i e l d on August 21.
Males n o t u sin g f i e l d s u n t i l th e o n set o f th e r u t (September)
Groups o f y e a r lin g and a d u lt males were fr e q u e n tly seen in bachelor"
herds on rangeland throughout the summer.
been d escrib ed by Buechner (op . c i t . ) .
Sim ilar bach elor herds have
R ecognizable males No. 2, 5 and 8
were each ob serv ed .in d if fe r e n t bachelor h e r d s.
Tn September Males No. 2
and 8 were observed e ith e r alone on rangeland or in the company o f fem ales
and/or fawns on rangeland or a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
Male No. 5> was a ls o in d i­
cated t o have d e ser te d th e male group w ith which he was- a s s o c ia te d .
August 27 he
On
was observed in th e company o f fem ales and fawns adjacent to
F ie ld No. U.Subsequent ob servation s p f him u sin g t h is f i e l d
and. a tten d ­
in g fem ale-faw n groups su ggested th a t he had s u c c e s s f u lly e s ta b lis h e d a
~5>211t e r r it o r y " .
Two marked fawns in th e group attended by t h is male in d i­
cated th a t he had acquired in d iv id u a ls from a la r g e r group p r e v io u sly
attended by a d if f e r e n t a d u lt m ale.
( a marked fawn in a group attended
b y Male No® 8 when he used F ie ld No* I had a ls o been p r e v io u s ly a sso c ­
ia te d w ith a la r g e r group and a d if fe r e n t a d u lt m a le)„
The movements o f
b achelor herd maleS 1was in d ic a te d to have been g rea ter than th ose o f any
other segment o f th e population*
Extremes fo r the th ree reco g n iza b le
m ales, a s s o c ia tin g w ith other males in herds during the summer, averaged
It.I m iles (3 .0 to I t .? ) .
The summer a s s o c ia tio n w ith oth er m ales, culmin­
atin g in the atten d in g o f fem ale-fawn groups u sin g a l f a l f a f i e l d s , i s
ill u s t r a t e d by th e data from Male No. 5 (Table ? ) .
H is more e x te n siv e
movements w hile w ith a bachelor herd than w ith a fem ale-faw n group u sin g
a f i e l d are shown by Table 7 and Figure ?B.
. The reason s fo r the apparent seg r e g a tio n o f y e a r lin g and c e r ta in
a d u lt males in t o herds apart from fem ale-faw n groups were suggested by
the fo llo w in g o b servation s * Males in bachelor herds were observed
attem pting to a s s o c ia te w ith fem ales throughout the la t e sp rin g and
summer.
"When a r e s id e n t a d u lt male was p resen t th ey were driven o f f .
Male No. 6 was seen in male groups chased by a r e s id e n t adu lt male
atten d in g a fem ale-fawn group on two o c ca sio n s.
When fem ale-faw n groups
t'
were out o f th e " territo ry " o f a president ad u lt male (se e e a r lie r s e c tio n )
th ey were fr e q u e n tly m olested by bachelor herd m a les.
The a g g ressiv e -sex­
u a l behavior o f th ese males (tioth y e a r lin g s and a d u lts) in bachelor herds
was noted to cause fem ales to lea v e t h e ir p resen ce.
Male an telop e appear-
I
Table. ?•
The com position o f groups a s so c ia te d w ith Adult Male No. 5> and h is movements.
Dates Marked
R elo ca tio n r e lo - fawn
cated A ssocNo.
ia t e s
I
2
3
k
3
6
7
8
9
,1 0
Il
12
7/21
7/21
7/2 7
8 /7
8/27
8/28
8/29
8/31
9 /6
9/11
9/18
9 /2 0
9/23
No. and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f a l l
a s s o c ia te s
7 A dult Y earling
Females Fawns males' males
I
I
I
I
No. 16
No, 16
No. 15
I
20*
h
7
12
6
I
3
7*
2
h
6
8
$
It.
9
7
6
V egetative
ty p es r e lo c a te d on
SB-GL
it
H
S .S .
‘."GIT
A lfa lf a
GW
S .S .
A lfa lfa
G W. A lfa lfa
Ii
SB-GL
D ista n ces (m iles)
from previous
s ite
Recognized
1 .3
1 .6
. It.7
3 .2
0 .9
0 .8
0 .8
1 .3
0 .8
0 .7
0 .1
1 .3
* Females -sand -.fawns not c l a s s i f i e d fu rth e r j SB-GL - Sagebrush-grassland, type; S .S . — Shale Slope
typ e; G W - Greasewood ty p e .
.
J
&
T
F ig . ?•
Diagrams showing movement p a ttern s o f antelope as in d ic a te d by s ig h t record s,
male No. L. B. Adult male Mo. 5 and a s s o c ia te s .
A. Adult
ed to be s e x u a lly InclizrM f in a l l but the w in ter season in Texas (Buechn e r , op. c i t . ) .
3h the p resen t stud y males in bachelor herds appeared to
be s e x u a lly in c lin e d a t an e a r li e r date than males h a b itu a lly atten ding
the fem a les.
The former were observed t o d is p la y toward fem ales as e a r ly
as Jtine 18 and throughout the summer.
This behavior was f i r s t recorded
fo r th e ad u lt m ales h a b itu a lly a tten d in g fem ale-faw n groups on August 2 8 .
Heightened sex u a l behavior fo r a l l males was noted during September, sug­
g e stin g th a t t h is month marks th e o n set o f the r u t .
The males from
bach elor h erd s, moving onto f i e l d s a t t h i s tim e, were undoubtedly m oti­
vated by the presence o f th e fem ales h a b itu a lly u sin g th e se f i e l d s .
Dur­
in g September th e p e r s is te n t a g g r essiv en ess o f males from bachelor herds
appeared to impose lim it s on the a b i l i t y o f r e sid e n t males to keep th e ir
fem ale-faw n groups in t a c t .
Adult males n ot u sin g f i e l d s
R ecognizable males No. I)., 7 and 10 were not observed to use a l f a l f a
f i e l d s even though t h e ir r e s p e c tiv e
t e r r i t o r i e s 11 were w ith in 0®5> m ile ,
0 .7 m ile and 1 .7 m iles o f f i e l d s (Nos. I and U) h a b itu a lly used by oth er
a n telo p e .
R elo ca tio n s o f males No. U and 7 in d ic a te d t h a t th ey occupied
the same t e r r it o r ie s during th e two s u c c e s siv e y e a r s . ' "When f i r s t seen in
19$h (June 25) male No. k was 0 .1 m ile from where he was i n i t i a l l y reco g ­
n ized in 1953 (J u ly l i ; ) .
The f i r s t r e lo c a tio n o f male No. 7 in 195U (June
13) was 0 .3 m ile from where he was f i r s t seen in 195)3 (J u ly 26) .
The un­
u su a l 1953 horn c h a r a c te r is tic ^ o f th e se males was r e ta in e d in 195U.
dence th a t th ese two ipales and male No. 10 were r e s id e n t to r e l a t i v e l y
E v i­
Table 8.
The com position o f groups associated , isdth Adult Male Mo, U and h is movements.
R elo ca tio n " D ates " Marked"Associates M o,.and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f a l l
Mo.
r e lo c a te d
fawns 'Mo.
. _______ a s s o c ia te s _________
___________ '______Females. Fawns Y earlin g Male
I
2
3
h
$
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 .
13
I ii
15.
16
17
18
19
7 /1 1 /5 3
7/15
7/18
7/22
8 /6
8/12
9 /lh
6/25/514
-
3, 26
23 3, 26
26
SB-GL
tt
111
9
S .S .
it
13
11
.12
10
25*
SBrGL
I:
It
it
. It
It
It
5
I
■ ill
5
6
8/1 1
,9/17
9/17
10 /5
■ V
It
3
7/lU
7/28
8/Ui
8/21
8/21
.
Ir
6/30
7A
%/2
I
I
11
.
ill
V eg eta tiv e D istance (m iles)
type r e from previous
lo c a te d on
s ite
12
il
8
G ;L .
SB-GL
GL
it
Hi
I
I
6
?
.
'
SB-GL
it
it
Recognized
OeIt
0 .1
0 .0
0 .0
0.0
0.8
OeIt
0.2
0.2
0.3
• 0 ,1
0.6
0 .7
0.1
0 .3
0 .1
o.l
0.7
0 .1
* Females and fawns not c l a s s i f i e d fu r th e r 3 SB-GL - Sagebrush-grassland typ e; S .S . - Shale Slope
type; GL - Grassland ty p e .
«57sm all .areas ( " t e r r ito r ie s " ) was provided by th e ir movements.
averaged 1 .3 m iles ( l . l to 1 .6 ) .
Extremes
On th e ir r e s p e c tiv e " te r r ito r ie s " th ese
males were c h a r a c t e r is t ic a lly a s so c ia te d w ith fem ale-fawn groups or
occurred a lo n e .
.. 8) {Figure ?A.
This i s i l l u s t r a t e d by r e lo c a tio n s o f male No. it ( Table
Bi the r e s p e c tiv e fem ale-fawn groups atten ded by the th ree
m ales, e ig h t marked in d iv id u a ls (6 faw ns, 2 y e a r lin g fem a les) were ob­
served .
R elo ca tio n s o f th ese in d iv id u a ls in fem ale-fawn groups attended
by d if f e r e n t a d u lt males provided fu rth er evidence th a t th e se groups moved
between the " te r r ito r ie s " o f r e s id e n t m a les.
O bservations in d ic a te d th a t
the movements from a " territo ry " o fte n req u ired co n sid era b le e f f o r t on the
part o f fem ales or fem ale-faw n groups.
R esid en t males attem pted to p re­
vent d e s e r tio n by a c t iv e ly pursuing and tu rn in g back th e in d iv id u a ls in ­
v o lv e d .
Movements in t o a " territo ry " were a c t iv e ly aid ed or even i n s t i ­
gated by herding on th e p art o f a r e s id e n t adu lt m ale.
This herding or
tu rn ing back b eh avior, where adult males a c t iv e ly in flu e n c e d th e movements
o f fem ales or fem ale-faw n groups, was observed on 26 o cca sio n s ranging
from June 30 to October 5»
A ll months were rep resen ted .
E ffe c ts o f Antelope Use on F ie ld s
To determine th e e f f e c t s o f in te n se u se by app reciable numbers o f
antelop e (maximum number 33 in 1953, 35 in 1 9 5 b ), data were obtained from
the second crops o f a l f a l f a on F ie ld No. I (7 0 .5 a c re s) during 1953 and
195b.
Two-thirds o f th e a l f a l f a acreage was on, th e north s id e o f a creek
which in t e r s e c te d the f i e l d .
The southern oner-third (23«5 a c re s) was
bounded bn the n o rth , e a s t and w est b y t h i s stream .
Only t h i s p o rtio n o f
—f?8—
th e f i e l d was h a b itu a lly used by a n te lo p e .
the south boundary.
The entrance rou te was along
Non-use o f the northern p ortion o f th e f i e l d was
ap p aren tly due to antelop e being u n w illin g to cro ss the creek (even when.,
dry) which was bordered by shrubs and t r e e s .
In 19!?h, data were obtained from a l f a l f a p la n ts w ith in th ree fenced
e x clo su r e s and.on p o r tio n s o f th e f i e l d u t i l i z e d b y a n te lo p e .
The ex­
c lo su r e s were 10 by 20 f e e t and were lo c a te d in r e p r e se n ta tiv e d e n s itie s .
of a lfa lfa .
Three tr a n s e c t l i n e s (100 f e e t apart) were run from the south
boundary north through th e long a x is o f the f i e l d .
Each l i n e was d iv id ed
in to 1 0 0 -fo o t s e c tio n s to f a c i l i t a t e th e ev a lu a tio n o f data a t d if fe r e n t
d ista n c e s from th e f i e l d edge.
As an ind ex to l e v e l s o f u t i l i z a t i o n , the
maximum h e ig h ts and numbers o f stems used on th e p la n ts in te r s e c te d by
tr a n s e c t li n e s were record ed .
Numbers o f blossom s and seed pods were r e ­
corded as an in d ic a tio n o f " p oten tia l" seed produ ction.
The r e s u lt s are
shown in Table 9R e la t iv e ly few blossom s and seed pods were recorded fo r p la n ts in t e r ­
s e c te d by the f i r s t four 1 0 0 -fo q t s e c tio n s o f th e tr a n s e c t l i n e s .
h e ig h ts were r e l a t i v e l y low (Table 9 ) .
Plant
G reater .average h e ig h ts and num­
b ers o f blossom s and seed pods were recorded fo r s e c tio n s No.
6 and 7*
S t i l l g rea ter average h e ig h ts and numbers o f blossoms and seed pods were
recorded fo r s e c tio n s No. 8 , 9 and 1 0 .
D iffe r e n c e s in l e v e l s o f u t i l i z a t i o n , as in d ic a te d by p la n t h e ig h t s ,
were v is u a lly apparent.
The h e ig h ts o f p la n ts o u tsid e an e x c lo su r e ,
lo c a te d £0 f e e t from th e south edge o f the f i e l d , were o b v io u sly lower
than p la n ts w ith in (F ig . 8 ) .
D iffer en ce s were l e s s apparent between
-
Table 9 .
59-
Maximtmi h e ig h ts and numbers o f blossom s and seed p od s' fo r
a l f a l f a p la n ts w ith in th ree e x clo su r e s and along tr a n se c t
li n e s on the 23®5 acre p o rtio n o f F ie ld Wo* I used by
a n te lo p e .
% o f Av. maxi­
Wp'. stems mum p la n t
s e c t s e c tio n in te r s e c te d stems used
h e ig h ts
100 f t o tr a n ­ Wo*;.. p la n ts
1(0 - 100)-*
2(100-200)
3(200-300)
U(3 oo4 oo)
5(Uoo-5oo)
6 (5oo-6oo)
7(600-700)
8(700-800)
9(800-900)
10(900-971)
T otals
36
3.8
1120 95.5
35
29
26
1119 96 .1
1113 93 .5
llt6l 9 2 .0
22
10U6 87.9
892 88 .8
■773 87.3
IOOlt 86.8
8 .0
6 .0
Mo* o f blossom s & seed
pods
T o ta l Av. Wo. per p la n t
12U
8
7.0
15
9 .0
1 2 .5
1 2 .5
Ul
3.1t
0 .2
0 . 1t
l.lt
218
8 .It
278
375
11.0
lit. 5
lt56
5
153 78.lt
77 8 0.5
1 3 .0
1 3 .5
2U6
98
1 2 .6
1 0.7
1 8 .2
3 5 .1
'1 9 .6
258
8,758 90.7
' 9 .8
1,859
7 .2
1 7 .9
10, lt80
6 9 .9
35
25
.7
Three e x c lo su r e s 150
,
-x D istance from f i e l d border.
-6 0 -
F ig . 8 .
D iffer en ce s in a l f a l f a p la n t h e ig h ts in s id e and o u tsid e an e x ­
clo su re $0 f e e t from the south boundary o f F ie ld No. I .
p l a n t s in s id e and o u ts id e an e x c lo s u re lo c a te d ItJO f e e t w ith in th e f i e l d
(F ig .
9)3
b u t c lo s e ex am in atio n re v e a le d t h a t th e te r m in a l p a r t s o f p la n ts
o u ts id e th e e x c lo s u re had been ta k e n (F ig . 1 0 ).
S im ila r te r m in a l u t i l i ­
z a ti o n , b u t to a l e s s e r d e g re e , o c c u rre d i n th e v i c i n i t y o f ah e x c lo su re
lo c a te d 6$0 f e e t w ith in th e f i e l d .
The data su ggested th a t app reciable p la n t u t i l i z a t i o n and severe r e ­
du ctions in "seed p o te n tia l" occurred throughout the southern o n e-th ird
(23„5 abres) o f t h is f i e l d .
Only two p la n t s , in t e r s e c te d along tr a n se c t
l i n e s , had non-use recorded fo r a l l stem s.
For a l l o f th e in te r s e c te d
p la n t s , 90«,7$ (7 ,9 li3 ) o f the stems showed evidence o f u t i l i z a t i o n .
P lan ts
p r o te c ted by e x c lo su r e s averaged 8 .1 in c h e s ( 82. 6$) h igh er and had an
average o f 6 2 .7 more b lossom s. and/or seed pods per p la n t than th ose on
p o rtio n s o f th e f i e l d used by a n telo p e.' E xclosure p la n ts averaged 1 0 .5
in ch es
h igh er and had an average o f 6 8 .6 more blossom s and/or
seed pods per p la n t than th ose along tr a n s e c t lin e s w ith in the f i r s t UOO.
f e e t o f the f i e l d ’s south boundary.
W ithin a 200 fo o t a rea , beginning
100 f e e t from th e south ed ge, maximum l e v e l s o f u t i l i z a t i o n and red u ction s
in "seed p o te n tia l" were found.
E xclosure p la n ts averaged 1 1 .Li in ch es
•
(1 7 5 .1 $ ) h igh er and had an average o f 6 9 .6 more blossoms and/or seed pods
per p la n t than th o se in t e r s e c te d w ith in t h i s area.
P r o g r e s s iv e ly , from
ItOO f e e t (from the south edge) north to 971 f e e t , l e s s sev ere le v e ls o f
u t i l i z a t i o n and red u ction s in "seed p o te n tia l" were su g g e ste d .
Exclosure
p la n ts averaged 5 «lt in ch es (1|3 . 2$5 h igh er and had an average o f 6l „5 more
blossom s and/or seed pods per p la n t than th o se w ith in th e ItOO- to 500 fo o t
s e c tio n ; 3 . It in ch es ( 23. 1$ ) h igh er and 5l »7 more blossom s and/or seed pods
-62
F ig . 10.
Terminal u t i l i z a t i o n on an a l f a l f a p la n t in th e v i c i n i t y o f
an ex clo su re Ij30 f e e t from th e south boundary o f F ie ld Mo. I .
—63—
per p lan t than th ose w ith in the 700 to 800 fo o t s e c tio n .
In 1953 h e ig h ts and numbers o f blossom s and seed pods were recorded
from a l f a l f a p la n ts in t e r s e c te d along tr a n s e c t lin e s (50 f e e t apart),' run
e a s t and w est through th e e n tir e 23*5 acre p o rtio n o f F ie ld No. I .
t o t a l o f 855 p la n ts was in t e r s e c te d .
-A •
Only two had non-use o f a l l stem s.
The average maximum h e ig h t o f a l l in t e r s e c te d p la n ts was 5 «8 inches (I4.O
in ch es sh o rter than 195b ).
Blossoms and/or seed pods averaged 3 ah per
p la n t .
D iffe r e n c e s in p la n t h e ig h ts and numbers o f blossoms and seed pods
w ith in the f ie ld , were apparent.
Within th e f i r s t 300 f e e t from the south
boundary b39 in t e r s e c te d p la n ts had the lo w e st maximum h e ig h ts (average
b.O in c h e s ) and the fe w est numbers o f blossom s and/or seed pods (0 .5 per
p la n t).
R e la t iv e ly g r ea ter h e ig h ts (average 7 .0 in c h e s) and numbers o f
blossoms and/or seed pods (U»7 per p la n t) were recorded fo r 332 p la n ts
■
in t e r s e c te d along li n e s .300 to 800 f e e t from the f i e l d ’ s south boundary.
The g r e a te s t h e ig h ts (average 1 0 .7 ) and numbers o f blossom s and/or seed
pods ( l 3 . b per p la n t) were recorded from 8b p la n ts in t e r s e c te d along
tr a n se c t l i n e s w ith in 800 to 971 f e e t (th e north boundary).
The same gen eral p a tte rn as shown by th e 195b data was su ggested ,
i . e . , more severe u t i l i z a t i o n and red u ctio n s in " see d 'p o te n tia l" in the
p o r tio n o f th e f i e l d along the boundary where antelope f i r s t entered and
p r o g r e s s iv e ly l e s s toward the Opposite s id e o f the f i e l d .
More in ten se
u t i l i z a t i o n was su ggested fo r 1953 than 195b, but the d iffe r e n c e s in
h e ig h ts fo r the two years were la r g e ly a ttr ib u te d t o p la n t growth.
In
1953 the f i r s t crop was mowed s ix days e a r li e r (J u ly 21) than in 195b, hut
th e regrowth o f p la n ts was retard ed by dry w eather,
Redords from the'
U. S. Department o f Commerce S ta tio n , s i x m iles south o f th e study area,
showed August 19!?3 p r e c ip ita tio n was 0 ,9 in c h e s , in 193b} 3 .1 8 in c h e s.
P lan ts had r e l a t i v e l y g r ea ter h e ig h ts in 193b than in 1933 when app reci­
able numbers o f an telop e f i r s t used the f i e l d (the Ia b t h a lf o f August
fo r both y e a r s ) .
P e lle t group counts were used by Bennett e t a l (l9 i|0 ) and others as
an index t o the r e la t iv e u se o f v e g e ta tio n a l ty p es by d eer.
On the 23«3
acre p o rtio n o f F ie ld No. I and on th e e a ste r n IiOO fo o t wide by 1700 fo o t
long (l3 o 6 a c r e s ) p o rtio n o f F ie ld No. 3 , antelop e p e l l e t groups were
counted th ree f e e t on e it h e r s id e o f su c c e s siv e 100 f o o t tr a n s e c t l i n e .
se c tio n s*
The p e l l e t groups counted rep resen ted the aggregate use on th e
f i r s t and second cro p s.
The r e s u lt s are shown on Figure- 1 1 .
P e lle t
group counts on F ie ld No. I corroborated th e r e s u lt s from p la n t measure­
ments in showing the s e c tio n s o f the f i e l d r e c e iv in g th e g r e a te s t use and
provided fu rth e r evidence th a t antelop e were r esp o n sib le fo r th e d if f e r ­
en ces in p la n t h e ig h t s .
P e lle t group counts on F ie ld No. 3 suggested th a t
o n ly a r e l a t i v e l y sm all p o rtio n o f t h i s 20li acre f i e l d r e c e iv e d app reci­
a b le u s e .
A comparison o f the number o f p e l l e t groups w ith the average
maximum p la n t h e ig h ts along tr a n se c t lin e s on F ie ld No. I in d ic a te d an
in v erse r e la tio n s h ip (F ig . 1 2 ) .
SUMMART
I.
I
The range use and food h a b its o f the pronghorn .an telop e, A n tilo -
carpa americana, were in v e s tig a te d on a 62-,l60 acre stud y area in C entral
FIELD
N0 . 2 , 1953
FIELD
N0.2, 1954
-£9~
FIELD
7
100
F ig . 11.
8
9
FOOT
10
M
12
13
|4
15
|6
|7
SECTIONS
Numbers o f antelope p e l l e t groups along s u c c e ssiv e 100 fo o t s e c tio n s o f tr a n se c t lin e s
beginning a t the boundary where antelop e en tered a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
-6 6 -
AV NO PELLET GROUPS
pellet
GROUPS
P
I
0
P LANT H E I G H T S
W
1
t-
Z
<
-J
CL
2
3
2
X
<
2
<
AV. NO. PELLET GROUPS
IOO FOOT SECTIONS
P
I
0
Ui
1
1954
Z
<
PELLET
PLANT
GROUPS
-I
CL
HEIGHTS
2
3
2
X
<
2
<
IOO FOOT SECTIONS
F ig . 1 2 .
The r e la tio n s h ip o f p e l l e t group numbers to
average maximum a l f a l f a p la n t h eig h ts along
s u c c e ssiv e 100 fo o t tr a n s e c t lin e s beginning
a t the boundary where antelop e en tered F ie ld
No. I .
-6 7 Montana where th e p r in c ip a l land use was sto c k r a is in g in te g r a te d w ith
a l f a l f a forage and seed' p rod u ction .
Antelope depredations on a lf a l f a
f i e l d s in the area were fr e q u e n tly rep o rted by land owners.
F ie ld in ­
v e s t ig a t io n s extended through sp r in g , summer and e a r ly f a l l during 1953
and 195iu
2.
Laboratory work was conducted during the two w in te r s .
'The a g r ic u ltu r a l croplands and th e rangeland ty p es a v a ila b le to
antelop e on the stu d y area are d escrib ed .
A lf a lf a f i e l d s occupied h°3%
( 2,659 acres) o f th e a rea , oth er croplands 0 . 7$ , the v a rio u s rangeland
typ es (S ageb ru sh -grassland , G rassland, Glay S lo p e, Shale S lo p e, Greasewood,
Sagebrush-Greasewood. Abandoned Meadow) 9 5 .0 $ .
P r iv a te ly owned lands
rep resen ted 60. 14$ o f the t o t a l acreagej p u b lic ly owned 39. 6$ .
3.
Recorded ob servation s o f antelop e seen on the v a rio u s rangeland
ty p es and croplands along r e g u la r ly tr a v e le d ro u tes in d ic a te d sea so n a l and
in season d iffe r e n c e s in th e use o f th ese v e g e ta tiv e ty p e s .
summer (J u ly ) Sagebrush-grassland was used predom inantly.
P rior to mid­
A fter midsummer,
decreased use on t h is type coin cid ed w ith in c r ea se d use on th e Greasewood
and Shale Slope ty p e s .
Use on a l f a l f a f i e l d s sharply in c r e a se d a fte r mid-
August, reachin g a maximum in la t e September.
the use o f rangeland ty p es were shown.
Corresponding decreases fo r
A fter October I , decreased use on
a l f a l f a f i e l d s was in d ic a te d to have r e s u lt e d in corresponding in c r ea se s
fo r rangeland ty p e s .
Iu
Food h a b its were determined by rumen a n alyses and recorded in ­
sta n ces o f p la n t use a t an telop e feed in g s i t e s on th e v a rio u s v e g e ta tiv e
ty p e s .
Data showing food h a b its by season s and d iffe r e n c e s w ith in seasons
are p resen ted .
Browse was in d ic a te d to have been th e predominant food
—68—
through la t e f a l l , w in ter and the f i r s t two months o f spring*
The p r in c i­
p a l browse s p e c ie s were Big Sagebrush, Fringed Sage and. S ilv e r Sagebrush.
During l a t e sp rin g c e r ta in v e rn a l forb s were im portant.
Grass was a minor
food a t a l l tim e s , but r e l a t i v e l y g r ea ter u t i l i z a t i o n was in d ic a te d during
sp r in g .
In summer, forb s were in d ic a te d to have been th e predominant fo o d .
Browse remained im portant, but the s p e c ie s were d if f e r e n t from th ose Used
e a r lie r .
Through the f i r s t two months o f f a l l , a l f a l f a was the predomin­
ant food o f antelop e u sin g f i e l d s .
A ntelope u sin g rangeland ty p es e x ­
c lu s iv e ly a t t h is tim e u t i l i z e d e ith e r browse or forbs as t h e ir p r in c ip a l'
food .
Y earlong, browse amounted to 5>6.6^ by volume and 60.1_$ by w eight o f
27 rumen sam ples, fo rb s h0»6% by volume and 36.1% by w eight and grass 2,8%
by volume and 3»f)% by w eig h t.
3.
O bservations o f 13 a l f a l f a f i e l d s in d ic a te d th a t 8 were used by
a n telo p e.
Numbers o f an telop e seen fo r 1,080 ob servation s o f the 8 f i e l d s
in d ic a te d th a t the same four f i e l d s r e c e iv e d th e g r e a te s t u se during both
years.
Comparisons o f fen ce c h a r a c t e r is t ic s , amounts o f e n c lo se d ran ge-
land and th e p r o x im itie s to in h a b ited ranches fo r a l l f i e l d s , suggested
that-w here antelop e were able to gain a c ce ss th ey p referred undisturbed
s itu a t io n s where both a l f a l f a and la r g e amounts o f rangeland were a v a il­
able w ith in the same fe n c e .
6.
Measurements and d e sc r ip tio n s o f fen ces app arently preventing
a ccess and th ose p erm ittin g a ccess to a l f a l f a f i e l d s are g iv e n ,
A t lU
observed p la c e s o f a ccess where antelop e crawled under U strand barbedw ire fen ces th e d ista n c e s from the ground t o the bottom w ire averaged I? ■
-69in c h e s
( lU » 5 t o
a lo n g f i v e
2 3 .5 ) ) .
S ev en ground t o
str a n d fe n c e s ob served to
b o t t o m w i r e m e a s u r e m e n ts a t p l a c e s
" sto p "
The c h e s t m e a s u r e m e n ts o f
a n t e l o p e a v e r a g e d 9 off i n c h e s
(7
to l l ) .
a n te lo p e a re g iv e n .
S ev en ground
to
t o p w i r e m e a s u r e m e n t s a t p l a c e s w h e r e f e n c e s w e r e ju m p ed b y a n a d u l t
m a le w e r e r e c o r d e d .
7.
a lfa lfa
T he maximum s i z e
f i e l d s u s e d s u g g e s t e d t h e n u m b ers o f a n im a ls i n v o l v e d i n d e p r e ­
d a tio n .
C o m p a r is o n s w i t h sum m er a e r i a l c e n s u s d a t a i n d i c a t e d t h a t
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 39% ( l $ l )
31%
o f a n te lo p e g ro u p s o b se r v e d on e a c h o f th e
o f th e p o p u la tio n u s e d a l f a l f a f i e l d s i n
1953;
(135) i n 195kc
8.
R e g u l a r o b s e r v a t i o n s o f tw o f i e l d s
■ se a so n a l and in
a lfa lfa
fie ld s
sea so n d iffe r e n c e s
in
d u r in g 1 9 5 3 a n d
t h e num bers o f a n t e lo p e u t i l i z i n g
and th e i n t e n s i t y o f f i e l d
u se.
' a n te lo p e w ere in d ic a t e d t o u se t h e s e f i e l d s .
p e r o b s e r v a tio n ) w ere lo w .
u tiliz in g
th e se f ie ld s
TnflyirrmTn b y l a t e
195k i n d i c a t e d
P r i o r t o m id - A u g u s t f e w
I n te n s itie s
o f u se
(a n te lo p e
A f t e r m id - A u g u s t b o t h t h e n u m b e r s o f a n t e l o p e ­
and th e i n t e n s i t i e s
S e p te m b e r . ' I n t e n s i t i e s
o f u s e in c r e a s e d , r e a c h in g a .
o f u se
an d n u m b ers u s i n g f i e l d s
d e c r e a s e d a f t e r O c to b e r I .
9.
O b s e r v a tio n s in d ic a t e d t h a t a l l s e x and a g e c l a s s e s u s e d f i e l d s ,
b u t f e m a l e s , f a w n s an d c e r t a i n a d u l t m a le s w e r e t h e s e g m e n t o f t h e p o p u ­
la tio n
m ost in v o lv e d .
C h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y o n e a d u l t m a le w a s a s s o c i a t e d
w ith fe m a le s and fa w n s .
in flu e n c e d f i e l d
u se i s
o f m a le s u s in g f i e l d s
B a ta in d ic a t in g
p r e se n te d .
t h a t t h e b e h a v i o r o f a d u l t m a le s
An a p p a r e n t i n c r e a s e
i n t h e n u m b ers
a f t e r m id - S e p t e m b e r c o i n c i d e d w i t h i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t
-7 0 t h i s p e r io d m arks t h e b e g in n in g o f t h e b r e e d in g s e a s o n »
10«
D a ta fro m r e l o c a t i o n s o f 2 1 m arked i n d i v i d u a l s
y e a r lin g s )
and 10 r e c o g n iz a b le
th a t th e d is ta n c e s
a n te lo p e had t o
t h e ir u se o f an a l f a l f a
g r e a te r d is ta n c e s to
to
tr a v e l in
a d u lts
fie ld
(9 a d u lt m a le s 5 I fe m a le ) s u g g e s te d
t r a v e l w as n o t th e d e c id in g f a c t o r in
on t h i s
o r fr o m .a f i e l d
area.
C e r ta in in d iv id u a ls
tr a v e le d '
t h e y u s e d t h a n o t h e r s w o u ld h a v e h a d
order to u se a f ie ld .
11.
F a c t o r s i n f l u e n c i n g m o v e m e n ts i n
i n d i c a t e d b y d a t a fr o m r e l o c a t i o n s
and r e c o g n iz a b le
a d u lt m a le s .
r e l a t i v e l y s m a ll a r e a s
t h e ir r e s p e c tiv e
t o a l f a l f a f i e l d s w ere
C e r t a i n a d u l t m a le s h a b i t u a l l y o c c u p i e d
T he " t e r r i t o r i e s ” o f som e m a le s
T h o se o f o t h e r s w e r e c o n f i n e d t o r a n g e l a n d . '
" te r r ito r ie s "
fa w n g r o u p s o r o c c u r r e d a l o n e .
" te r r ito r ie s "
r e la tio n
o f m a r k e d fa w n s o b s e r v e d t o u s e f i e l d s
( " t e r r i t o r i e s 1’ ) .
in c lu d e d a l f a l f a f i e l d s .
On
t h e s e m a le s w ere a s s o c i a t e d w it h f e m a le F e m a le - f a w n g r o u p s m o v ed b e t w e e n t h e
o f d if f e r e n t r e s id e n t m a le s .
M ovem en ts o u t o f a " t e r r i t o r y "
w ere f r e q u e n t l y h in d e r e d .b y t h e r e s i d e n t a d u lt m a le .
c e r ta in
( a s fa w n s o r
Y e a r l i n g m a le s a n d
a d u l t m a l e s w e r e a s s o c i a t e d i n b a c h e l o r h e r d s d u r i n g t h e sum m er.
The m o v e m e n ts o f t h e s e b a c h e l o r h e r d m a le s w e r e i n d i c a t e d t o h a v e b e e n
g r e a t e r t h a n t h o s e f o r a n y o t h e r " segm en t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n .
sum m er a t t e m p t s b y t h e s e m a l e s t o
an a l f a l f a
a d u lt m a le .
fie ld
D u r in g t h e
a s s o c i a t e w it h fe m a le -fa w n g rou p s w it h in
or r a n g e la n d " t e r r it o r y "
W it h t h e o n s e t o f t h e r u t
w ere p r e v e n te d b y th e r e s id e n t
(S e p te m b e r .) m a le s d e s e r t e d b a c h e l o r
h erd s.
C e r t a i n a d u l t s fr o m t h e s e h e r d s w e r e o b s e r v e d q n r a n g e l a n d o r o n
a lfa lfa
fie ld s
in
t h e co m p a n y o f f e m a l e s an d fa w n 's.
M a rk ed fa w n s i n d i ­
c a t e d t h a t t h e y h ad a c q u ir e d in d i v i d u a l s fr o m g ro u p s p r e v i o u s l y a tte n d e d
-7 1 by r e s id e n t ad u lt male's'.
12.
To evalu ate th e e f f e c t s o f antelop e on a l f a l f a forage and seed
production data were obtained from measurements o f a l f a l f a p la n ts and
counts o f blossom s and seed pods.
The 195>U data from a l f a l f a p la n ts
w ith in th ree e x clo su r e s and along tr a n se c t lin e s on the 2 3 .5 acre p o r tio n
o f F ie ld No. I (7 0 .5 a c r e s) used by app reciable numbers o f antelope
su ggested the fo llo w in g .
Antelope caused app reciable red u ctio n s in p la n t
h e ig h ts and severe red u ctio n s in th e numbers o f blossoms and seed pods
("seed p o te n tia l" ) throughout the 2 3 .5 a c r e s .
A lfa lf a p la n ts p ro tected
by e x clo su r e s averaged 8 .1 in ch es (82%) h igh er and had 6 2 .7 more blossomsand/or seed pods per p la n t than th o se o u tsid e o f e x clo su r e s in te r s e c te d by
tr a n s e c t l i n e s .
R e la t iv e ly g rea ter red u ctio n s in p la n t h e ig h ts and "seed
p o te n tia l" occurred w ith in the f i r s t UOO f e e t o f the south boundary where
antelop e en tered the f i e l d .
From ItOO f e e t toward the north boundary, r e ­
ductions were p r o g r e s s iv e ly l e s s s e v e r e .
A s im ila r r e la t io n s h ip to th e
south boundary (p o in t o f en try) was shown by th e 1953 data from t h is
fie ld .
1 3.
Data from p e l l e t group counts along tr a n se c t li n e s on F ie ld No, -f"
I corroborated th a t from p la n t h e ig h t measurements in in d ic a tin g the
s e c tio n s o f the f i e l d r e c e iv in g the g r e a te s t antelope u s e .
P e lle t group
counts on F ie ld No. 3 in 1953 in d ica ted , th a t on ly a r e l a t i v e l y sm all por­
t io n o f t h is 20lt acre f i e l d r e c e iv e d a p p reciab le use.,
llu
A comparison of the numbers o f p e l l e t groups and the maximum
p la n t h e ig h ts along t r a n s e c t l i n e s on. F ie ld No. I in d ic a te d an in v e r se
r e la t io n s h ip .
-7 2 MANAGEMEWT SUGGESTIONS
1.
^ lio
The i n t e r s p e r s i o n
o f p u b lic
' f e e a ^ o u f i t u o f ,vptib-f
I h n d ^(abpu.tu]40% o f ' t h e a 3? e a )a n d t h e v a l u e o f t h e
a n te lo p e r e s o u r c e
m ake i t m a n d a t o r y t h a t t h e p r o n g h o r n a n t e l o p e b e g i v e n c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n
t h e la n d u s e o f t h i s a r e a .
in
O th e r l a n d u s e s s h o u l d b e c a r e f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d
t h e g e n e r a l a n t e l o p e m a n a g em en t p r o g r a m .
c o n f l i c t under c e r t a in
T he r e s u l t s
2.
T h is s t u d y r e v e a l e d a s e r i o u s
c o n d it io n s b e tw e e n a n te lo p e and a l f a l f a p r o d u c tio n .
o f t h e s t u d y p e r m it th e f o l l o w i n g s u g g e s t io n s ,
E i t h e r s e x h u n t i n g s e a s o n s , b e g i n n i n g on o r a b o u t S e p te m b e r I ,
w o u ld p r o b a b l y r e s u l t i n
a r e d u c tio n o f th e
a n t e lo p e -p o p u la tio n p r ip r t o
t h e t i m e t h a t m aximum n u m b e r s i n t e n s i v e l y u s e f i e l d s .
3.
R eductions in the numbers o f a n telop e h a b itu a lly u sin g a l f a l f a
f i e l d s should be f a c i l i t a t e d by hunting areas in th e v i c i n i t y o f f i e l d s .
It.
H i e r e u n u s u a l l y s e v e r e dam age t o
r e s u l t o f a n te lo p e d e p r e d a tio n s ,
a lfa lfa
crops i s
" o u t o f s e a s o n " r e m o v a ls o f t h e a n im a ls ..
i
h a b it u a lly u s in g f i e l d s
5.
.
m ig h t b e n e c e s s a r y ,
P r o p e r ly c o n s t r u c t e d and m a in t a in e d f e n c e s w i l l e x c lu d e a n t e lo p e
fr o m a l f a l f a
fie ld s .
Qn t h e
area s tu d ie d ,
f i e l d s b y c r a w lin g u n d er f e n c e s .
in s ta n c e s
s u s ta in e d a s a
a n te lo p e g a in e d a c c e s s t o
F i v e s t r a n d b a r b e d - w i r e f e n c e s i n som e
a p p a r e n tly p r e v e n te d a c c e s s t o
fie ld s .
D is t a n c e s b e tw e e n th e
g r o u n d and b o tto m w ir e w as t h e c r i t i c a l f e a t u r e d e t e r m in in g w h e th e r a n t e ­
lo p e w ere e x c lu d e d .
T h is d i s t a n c e s h o u ld n o t e x c e e d 1 1 in c h e s a t a n y
p la c e a lo n g th e f e n c e .
S im ila r s p a c in g b e tw e e n -th e f i r s t ,
t h i r d w i r e s w o u ld b e a d v i s a b l e .
s e c o n d and
M a in t e n a n c e , t o k e e p a l l w i r e s t i g h t l y
. f,
-7 3 -
str e tc h e d i s n e c e ssa r y .
The u se o f woven w ire fe n c e s , topped w ith stran d s
o f barbed-w ire, would probably r e s u lt in more e f f e c t iv e lo n g term p ro- •
t e c tio n and a le ss e n e d need fo r m aintenance.
6.
Although fen ce jumping by antelop e in th e area stu d ied was very
uncommon, th ere i s evidence th a t th ey do le a rn t o n e g o tia te fe n c e s in
t h i s manner.
Zn Carter County, Montana, where antelop e commonly jumped
fe n c e s , a 36 in ch high woven wire fen ce topped w ith 3 stran d s o f barbedw ire 6 in c h e s apart appeared to preven t the use o f a f i e l d .
7«
A lf a lf a f i e l d s w ith l i t t l e or no rangeland w ith in the e n c lo sin g
fen ce were in d ic a te d to be l e s s a tt r a c tiv e to antelop e than th o se w ith .
la r g e amounts o f rangeland w ith in th e fe n c e .
Fences should be placed as
c lo s e to the f i e l d borders as p r a c tic a b le .
LITERATURE CITED
Andrews, D. A ., G. S . Lambert and G. W. S t o s e «
Montana.
B eer, James.
19l|l|..
G eologic map o f
U. S . D ept, o f I n t e r io r , G eo lo g ica l Survey. ■
19I4I1..
in Montana.
D is tr ib u tio n and s ta tu s o f the pronghorn antelope
Jour. Mamm., 2$ili3-k6«
B en n ett, L. J . , P. F. E n glish and Randal McCain.
19U0.
p op u lation s by the u se o f p e lle t-g r o u p co u n ts.
A stu d y o f deer
Jour. W ild l. M gt.,
li(L ):398-L 03.
Berges on, W. R ., and W. K. Thompson.
a n te lo p e .
19U6,
A e r ia l census o f Montana’s
Montana F ish and Game Department, ty p ew ritten r e p o r t.
23 PP.
'Brazda, A. R.-. 1933•
E lk m igration and some o f the fa c to r s a ffe c tin g
-Tiimovements in th e G a lla tin R iver D rainage, Montana.
Jour, o f W ild l.
Mgt.., I? Cl) s9-23*
\
-
'
'
... .
'
xBuechner, H. K.
1950.
L ife h is to r y , e co lo g y and range u se o f the prong­
horn an telop e in T rans-Pecos, Texas.
^Buck, P aul.
,
19U7*
.
T h e sis.
.
-
Am. M idi. M at., Ii3 ( 2 ) s257-35U*
The b io lo g y o f th e antelope in Montana. . Unpub. M. S .
'
-
Mont. S ta te C o ll.
Couey, F . M.
19i|6.
Antelope foods in sou th eastern Montana.
Jour. W ild l»
M gt., IO(Ii) $367.
Dinars on, A. S .
19i|8.
The pronghorn an telop e and i t s management.
W ild l.
Mgt. I n s t . , Washington, D. C ., 238 pp.
F e r r e l, C. M., and H. R. Leach.
195>2.
The pronghorn antelop e o f
C a lifo r n ia w ith s p e c ia l referen ce to food h a b it s .
C a l i f . Fish and
Game, 38(3):285-293*
G iesek er, L. F ., C. B. M anifold, A. T. Strahorn and 0 . F . Bartholomew.
1953*
SOjil su rvey. C entral Montana.
U. S . D ept, A g r., Mont. Agr.
Exp. S t a i , S e r ie s 19l|0, Mo. 9 , 133 pp*
Johnson, D. E:.
n e ls o n ii
1951*
The b io lo g y o f the e lk c a l f , Cervus canadensis
Jour. W ild l. M gt., l5 (U )s3 9 6 -i|1 0 .
Leopold, A. S . , Thane R in ey, Randal McCain and Lloyd T e v is , J r .
The jawbone deer herd.
C a lif . D iv. F ish anti Game.
l9 5 l*
Game B u ll, Mo,
Il, 139 PP*
Mason, E l l i s .
a n te lo p e .
. McLean, D. D.
1952.
Food h a b its and measurements o f Hart,Mountain
Jour. W iltil. M gt., 16(3)5387-389*
19l|i|.
The pronghorn an telo p e in C a lifo r n ia ,
and Game, 3 0 (Ii) ;2 2 1 -2 i|l.
C a lif . F ish
-
Montana F ish and Game Commission.
N elson , E. ¥ .
1925.
75-
B ie n n ia l R eport, 19h6-h7 and 1950-52.
S ta tu s o f the pronghorned a n telo p e, 1922-25.
U. S.
D ept. Agr. B u l l ., 1356, 65 pp.
N o r ris, J . J .
1953.
B o ta n ica l a n a ly sis o f stomach co n te n ts as a method
o f determ ining forage consumption o f range sheep.
Rouse, C. H.
1955.
Antelope and sheep fe n c e s .
E c o l ., 2 5 (2 )!255-
P relim in ary rep o rt F ish
and W ild life S e r v ic e , 20 pp. (mimeographed).
Saunders, J . K,
A tw o-year in v e s tig a tio n o f the food h a b its and range use
o f the rocky mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana.
W ild l. Mgt. (Zn P r e s s ).
Jour.
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
762 1001 3347 7
t PjO '^