Mid-March on the western Wyoming range: Jim and I were surprised yesterday to see these two pronghorn antelope bucks engaged in a furious battle in the sagebrush. Since it’s not breeding season, we assume it was a territorial dispute. The two fairly evenly matched bucks went at each other for several minutes, until one buck …
Tag: Pronghorn antelope
Spring, and Shared Range
Spring has arrived to our western Wyoming rangelands. We’ve already had temperatures in the 40s and snowmelt, with the resulting visit from our old friend mud – which we haven’t experienced for the longest time in our decade or so of drought. It’s been a pleasure to have to throw the truck in four-wheel drive …
New range
We got the sheep herd moved to new range today. We’re in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains, and this private pasture is about seven miles from where a black wolf was seen in another sheep herd the day before. Federal control efforts on this pack of sheep-killing wolves continues. Wolves in Wyoming are …
Pronghorn snow
A few images of pronghorn antelope in the snow yesterday – western Wyoming. Snow was falling like a light mist, with no direct sunlight, casting a gloom across the range. Beautiful in ways that only wild things are. Click on image to enlarge.
Learned behavior
This week was an interesting one on the Wyoming rangelands. The sage grouse broods are doing well, with the now adolescent-sized birds that accompanying their mothers. Most of the broods I’ve seen have five or six young, so it’s been a good year for chick production. The pronghorn antelope fawns are growing as well, but …
Eagle predation on pronghorn fawns
On July 1, as I drove down a two-tract road on the sheep allotment, I came upon two golden eagles on the ground. The raptors rose heavily into the air, weighed down by a recent meal. I drove straight to the spot in the sagebrush where the eagles had been grounded, and discovered the fresh …
Reviewers needed
My next nonfiction children’s book will be released this fall, so my publishing house is currently preparing the marketing plan. The book is about pronghorn antelope, and the photographer is my talented friend Mark Gocke. This is my first nature title for kids (my other books are about agriculture). If you’re a blogger or writer …
Fall migration
Jim and I once again had the pleasure of being at the right place at the right time today, as part of the Sublette pronghorn antelope herd came through in its major fall migration. This bunch had just swam the New Fork River, and came through the meadow next to our sheep herd. The burros …
Babysitting
I drive by a hay meadow outside of Pinedale on a regular basis and always look at the pronghorn antelope that inhabit that spot. In the last few weeks, there were about five does that had their fawns in the meadow. This afternoon I had to laugh, since this one doe had apparently been assigned …
Pronghorn peace
I’ve been watching a young pronghorn doe this past week, as she’s been hanging out, alone, in the hay meadow on the north side of the highway. The native grass is growing really well, the irrigation ditch is full, and it’s very beautiful, quiet and peaceful. The most disturbance that occurs there is when the …