Desert Bighorn Council Transactions Volume 7 1963

Home , Barbary sheep, Bighorn sheep, Ringbolt Rapids, Sheep Wars

DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL TRANSACTIONS

VOLUME 7 1963

Desert Bighorn Council

i A COMPILATION OF FORMAL PAPERS PRESENTED AND DISCUSSIONS HELD AT THE SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 2, 3, AND 4, 1963 IN THE SCIENCE BUILDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA AT LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Compilod by CHARLES G. HANSEN AND EDMUNO L. FOUNTAIN

THE DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL TRANSACTIONS ARE PUBLISHED ANNUALLY AND ARE AVAILABLE BY WRITING THE "DESERT BIGHORN COUNCiLe' P. 0. BOX 440, LAS VEGAS. NEVADA.

COVER DRAWING, BY PAT HANSEN.

PUBLISHED B Y:

REYNOLDS ELECTRICAL h ENGINEERING CO.. INC. U. S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION CONTRACT AT(29-21-162 OCTOBER - 1983 SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING

DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL

April 2, 3, and 4, 1963

Las Vegas, Nevada

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Program - 1963 Desert Bighorn Council ...... fV Group Photogra'ph ...... VII Roster ...... VIII Desert Bighorn Council Award ...... xIV

FORMAL PAPERS AM) DISCUSS IONS

A HISTORY OF BIGHORN SHEEP IN CENTRAL NEVADA' - Mr. Merlin A. McColm ...... 3.

PROGRESS AND HUNT RlEPORT Wr. Ray Brechbfll ...... J.2

WATER RELATIONSHIPS OF DESERT MAMMALS WITH SPECIAL RBFERENCE TO BIGHORN SHEEP . Mr. William G. Bradley ...... O...... 26

EXOTICS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS Dr. William Graf ...... 42

BIOUGICAL ASSAYS Dr. Edmund L. Fountain ...... 53 THE BXGXORN SHEEP OF LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Mr. James Sleznick, Jr...... e...... e~~~~~~em~.o~ 58

SOME DESERT BIGHORN REFLECTIONS Mr. Gale Moason ...... 61

THE WYNNE-EDWARDS THEORY APPLIED TO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP Mr. Winston E. Banko ...... 64

A DESERT BIGHORN STUDY: PART ONE Mr. Norman M. Simmons ...... 72

A NATIONAL WILDLIFE SERVICE FOR MEXICO Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez Corzo ...... e...... 87 BIGHORN BREEDING Page Mr. Oscar V. Deming ...... 92

BIGWRNS AND PAPAGOS Mr. Seymour H. Levy ......

SIGNIFICANT BIGJ3OR.N SLIDES Mr. Florence B. Welles ......

RE-ESTABLISHING NATIVE BIGHORN RANGES Mr. Jim Yoakurn ......

BIGHORN SHEEP OF TXE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST Mr. Charles E. Kennedy ......

A REPORT ON THE FIRST MID-WINTER AND SPRING BLGHDRN SHEEP CENSUS IN THE SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS - 1962-1963 Dr. John D. Goodman ......

STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF THE DRUG SUCCINYLCHOLINE CHURIDE ON DOMESTIC SHEEP, RELATED Kl ITS USE AS AN AID IN THE CAPTURE OF DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP Mr. Dennis W. Chew and Dr. John D. Goodman ......

BIGrnRN SKULL STUDY Mr. John H. Kiger ......

RE30RT FROPl THE KDFA GAME RANGE Mr. Gerald E. Duncan ...... 151

SOME WATERING CHARACTERISTICS OF TWD PENNED BIGHORN SHEEP ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE, NEVADA Mr. William C. Reffalt ......

BIGHORN SHEEP IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK Mr. Dalton E. Merkel ......

ARIZONA PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Robert A. Jantzen ......

NEW MEXZOO PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Phil E. Freeman ......

BUSINESS SESSION Cornittees ...... Minutes ...... OONTRIBUTED PAPERS Page

A SIMMER WATERHDLE STUDY AT CARRIZOSPRING, SANTA ROSA MOUNTAIMS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Mr. Mark F. Knudsen ...... ls5

SOME COMMENTS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF DESERT BIGWRN SHEEP OF THE S- ROSA mmINS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Dr. John D. Goodman and Mr. Mark F. Knudsen ...... 193

A DYE SPRAYING DEVICE FOR MARKING DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP Dr. Charles G. -*sen ...... 199 PROGRAM

DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL

Mr. A1 Ray Jonez, Chairman Nevada Fish and Game Department Las Vegas, Nevada

Dr. Charles G. Hansen, Secretary-Treasurer Desert Game Range Las Vegas, Nevada

SEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING

April 2 - 4, 1963 University of Nevada, Southern Regional Division Las Vegas, Nevada

Program Committee: Arrangements Cormittee:

Newell B. Morgan, Chairman A1 Ray Jonez, Chairman Richard.Weaver Theodore F. Whitmoyer Edmund L. Fountain

Meeting opened at 8:45 a.m.

Welcome: Dean Willim D. Carlson, University of Nevada, Southern ~egional Division, Las Vegas, Nevada

Mr. Frank W. Grwes, Director, Nevada Fish and Game Department Reno, Nevada Introduction of Members

Section Chairman Mr. Frank W. Grwes, Nevada Fish and Game Department

A HISTDRY OF BIGHORN SHEEP IN CENTNIL NEVADA Mr. Merlin A. McColm, Nevada Fish and Game Department, Austin, Nevada

PROGRESS AND HUNT REPORT Mr. Ray Brechbill, Nevada Fish and Game Department, Hiko, Nevada

U)OSE END THINKING Mr. Ralph E. Welles, Beatty, Nevada WATER RELATIONSHIPS OF DESERT MAMMALS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BIGHORN SHEEP Mr. William G. Bradley, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada

EXOTICS AND THEIR IMPLICATION Dr. William Graf, San Jose State College, San Jose, California

BIOLOGICAL ASSAYS Dr. Ebund L.Fountain, Veterinary Corps, US. Army, Las Vegas, Nevada

THE BIGHORN SHEEP OF LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Mr. James Sleznick, Jr., Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Nevada

SOME DESERT BIGHORN REFLECTIONS Mr. Gale Monson, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. Read by: Mr. Wins ton E. Banko

TKE WYNNE-EDWARDS THEORY APPLIED XI DESERT B1GHIR.N SHEEP Mr. Winston E. Banko. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.

April 3, 1963

Meeting opened at 8:30 a.m.

Section Chairman Pir. George E. Barclay, Fish and Wildlife Service

A NATIONAL WILDLIFE SERVICE FOR MEXICO- and MOVIES - A reconnaissance for Bighorn in Baja California Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez Corzo, Director General of Hunting, Mexfco, D.F.

BIGIIDRN BREEDING - Mr. Oscar V. Deming, Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakeview, Oregon

BIORNS AND PAPAGOS Mr. Seymour H. Levy, Tucson Wildlife Unlimited, Tucson, Arizona Read by: Mr. Norman M. Sinnnons

SIGNIFICANT BIGH3RN SLIDES Mrs. Florence B. Welles, Beatty, Nevada

RE-ESTABLISHING NATIVE BIGKRNS Mr, Jim Yoakum, Bureau of Land Managanent, Reno, Nevada

BIGHORN SHEEP OF THE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST Mr. Charles E. Kennedy, Angeles National Forest, Newhall, California A REPORT ON THE FIRST MID-WINTW SPRING BIGmRN SHEEP CENSUS IN THE sANI!A ROSA MOUNTAINS, 1962- 1963 Dr. John D. Goodman, University of Redlands, Redlands, California

STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF DRUG SUCCINPLCXDLINE CHLORIDE ON DOMESTIC SHEEP, related to. its use as an aid .in the capture of desert bighorn . sheep. Mr, Dennis W. Chew, University of Redlands, Redlands, California

BUSINESS MEETING opened at 2:00 p.~. Chairman, Mr. A1 Ray Jone?

Presentation of Award to Mr. Oscar V. Deming Commendation of Mr. George E. Barclay Technical S taff Report Election and Installation of Officers Current Business

April 4, 1963 '

Section Chainnan Mr. Richaed E. Grfffdth, Fish and WildlSfe Service

BPGEOIW9 SKULL STUDY . . Mr. John 8. Kiger, Fish and Wildlife .Service, Las ~egas,Nevada

STATUS OF TRANSPLANTED BIGHORNS IN TEXAS Mr. Tom L. Hailey, Texas Game and Fish Conmission, Marfa, Texas

SOME WATERING CHARPlCTERISTICS OF TGlO PENNED BIGHORN SHEEP ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE, NEVADA Mr. William C. Reffalt, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

B1GHI)RN SHEEP IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK Mr. Dalton E. Merkel, Department of Parks and Recreation, Borrego Springs, California

ARIZONA PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Robert A. Jantzen, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona

NEW .MEXICO PROGRESS REPORT Mr. Phil E. Freeman, Department of Fish and Game, Santa Fe, New Mexico ATTENDEES AT THE 7963 DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL

FRONT ROWFROMLEFT BACK ROW FROM LEFT MR, MARSHALL HUMPHRIES MR. NORMAN M. SIMMONS ING. MANUEL FOGLIO C. DR. JOSE ANG EL DAVILA- MR. DENNIS W. CHEW MR. PARRY A. LARSEN MR. ELWOOD F. HlLL MR. OSCAR V. DEMING MR. STANLEY E. BROMAN MR. JOHN D. HlLL MS. CECIL A. KENNEDY STANDING MR. FLOYD C. NOEL MR. JAMES SLEZNICK JR. "TAG-A-LONG** MR. WINSTON E. BANK0 DEBBIE KANSEN MR. TOBIAS CONTRERAS B. SECOND ROW FROM LEFT MR. JACK R. COOPER MR. GERALD E. DUNCAN DR. JOHN W. WOOD MR. FRANCIS C. GILLETT MR. RAOD S. GORDON DR WILLIAM GRAF ING. RAMAR!O GARCIA PEREZ MR. TOM L. HAILEY MR. NORMAN A. BISHOP MR. DONALD C. DOBEL MR. WILLIAM C. RAFFALT MR. MERLIN A. MCCOLM MR. HOHN P. RUSSO MR. RAY BRECHalLL MR. NEWELL 8. MORGAN MR. PAUL M. WEBB MR. PHIL E. FREEMAN MR. SAM MALIZZO MR. HUGH H. BOZARTH MR. GEORGE A. ROGERS MR. CHARLES EL. KENNEDY MR. BOMAR BLONG (IN FRONT) MR. GEORGE W. WELCH THIRD ROW FROM LEFT MR. T. J. MC MICHAEL MR. TOM MC KNlGHT MR. ALSERT K. LEONARD MR. JAMES A. BLAISDELL DR. JOHN D. GOODMAN (IN FRONT) MR. RiCHARD A. WEAVER MR. WARREN E. KELLY DR. CHARLES G. HANSEN MR. RAY PARENT DR. RODOLFO HERNANDEZ CORZO MR. JOHN H. KIGER MR. AL R. JONES .MR. ROBERT L. DARNELL DR. EDMUND L. FOUNTAIN MR. GEORGE E. BARCLAY MR. FLORENCE a. WELLES MR. CLAUDE F. LARD MRa RALPH E. WELLES MRS. PATRICIA A. HANSEN ROSTER

DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL

April 3, 1963

Name Agency Hailing Address u-8, Willard N. Training Officer Las Vegas, Nevada Public Helth Service

~lison,l&lcolm N. Bureau Sport Fisheries & 650 Capitol Ave. Rm. 4100 Wildlife Sacramento 14, California

lustin, George Student 5077 Eugene Avenue University of Nevada at Las Yegas, Nevada Las Vegas

bnko, Wins ton E. Bureau of Sport Fisheries & 7612 Highland Avenue Wildlife Springfield, Virginia

brclay, George E. Bureau of Sport Fisheries & Box 1306 WLldlif e Albequerque, New kxko

Bishop, Norman A. Park Naturalist Box 193 National Park Service Death Valley, California

Blaisdell, Jarnes A. National Park Service Box 336 Grand Canyon, Arizona

Blong, Bomar California Dept. of Fish & Box 161 Game IdyJlwild, California

Bozarth, Hugh B. Death Valley National ~nument National Park Service Death Valley, California

Bradley, William G. Biology Professor U of N at Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada

Brechbill, Ray and Maureen Key-Pittman Wildlife Hanagement Area Nevada Fish & Game Commission-Hiko, Nevada

Broman, Stanley E. National Park Service Box 1728 Santa Fe, New Mexico

viii -Name Agency Mailing Address

Chew, W. Student Cor tner Hall University of Redlands Redlands, California

Contreras, Tobias Agancia Gral. Av. Plateros Nte. 1952 Hexicali, B. C., Mexico

Cooper, Jack R. Nevada Fish br Game Conan. Box 788 Ely, Nevada

Corzo, Dr. Rodolfo H. Director General de Caza Subsecretaria de Recs. Fors. Caza Aquiles Serdan No. 28 -3rd Pi Mexico 1, D. F. , Mexico

Dale, Dr. red 8. Bureau sport Fisheries & Wildlf fe Washington, D. C.

Darnell, Robert L. Manager, Havasu Lake Refuge Box 1717 Bureau Sport Fisheries & WmL? Parker, Arizona life

Deacon, James Em Professor U of N at Us'Vegas Us Vegas, Nevada

Sheldon-Hart Mtn. Refuge Refuge Biologist Lakeview, Oregon

Dobel, Donald C, Nevada Fish & Game Comm. Box 294 Eureka, Nevada

Duncan, Gerald KO Ass't Mgr., Hofa & Cabeza Box 1032 Private Game Range Yma, Arizona Bureau Sport Fisheries & Wildlife

Eustis, George P. Ass't. Mgr., Monte Vista NWR Box 147 Bureau Sport Fisheries .& Monte Vista, Colorado Wildlife

Foglio, Hanuel Agencia Gral. de Agric. Jacarandas 1126 Mexicali E. C., Mexico -Name Agency Mailing Address pountain, Edmund I,. Box 1676 Las Vegas, Nevada

Freeman, Phil E. New Mexico Game & Fish Department Santa Fe, New Mexico

~arcia, Ramiro Agencia Gral. de. Agric. Plateros Sur 1999 Memcicali B. C., Heldco

Cillet, Francis C, Bureau Sport Fisheries & Washington 25, D. C. Wildlife Goodman, John D. Biology Ilep&tment Redlands, California University of Redlands

Gordon, Radd S, New Mexico Game & Fish S.anta Fe, New Mexico Department

Graf, William Biology Department San Jose State College San Jdse, Calif ornka

Graf, Mrs. William (Same as above)

Grwes, Frank W. Director, Nevada Fish & Po 0, BQX 678 Game Reno, Nevada

Hailey, TmLo Texas Game & Fish Dep t. Bsx 1228 Marfa, Texas

Bmbly, Derek 0. Lake Pleqd at' 1 Recreation 1212 Avenue I Area Boulder City, Nevada National Park Service

Hansen, Charles G. Bureau Sport Fisheries & Desert Game Range Wildlife Las Vegas, Nevada

Ransen, Mrs, Pat Desert GameJange Las Vegas, Nevada

Hill, Efw~odF, Nevada Fish & Game Connn. Pioche, Nevada -Name Aaency Mailing Address Hill, John Dm Ass' t Refuge Manager Hart Mtn. Refuge Bureau Sport Fisheries & Plush, Oregon Wildlife Hill, Mrs. Jane D. Hart Mtn, Refuge Plush, Oregon

Boll, Royal Range Conservationist Las Vegas, Nevada Bureau of Land Management

Hqhreys, Marshall Wildlife Special is t Box 678 Nevada Fish & Game Comn. Reno, Nevada

Jantzen, 8. 8. Arizona Game & Fish Dept. Room 111 - Capitol Annex Phoenix, Arizona

Jonez, Al District Supervisor 5325 Evergreen Nevada Fish & .Game Cam. Las Vegas, Nevada -

Jonez, Hrs. Dorothy 5325 Evergreen Las Vegas, Nevada

Kelly, warren%. Southern Reg, Div. Box 1232 Arizona Game 6; Fish Dept. Wickenburg, Arizona

Kendschy, Bob Range Conservationist Box 5 Bureau of Land Management Vale, Oregon

Refuge Manager Box 756 Bureau Sport Fisheries & Las Cruces, New Mexico Wildlife

Kennedy, Charles E, Angeles ~ationalForest 23610 San Femando Road U. S. Forest Service Newhall, California

Kiger, John He Desert Game Range Star Route.L, Box 14 Ass' t. Refuge Manager Las Vegas, Nevada

Lard, Claude F. Mgr., Kofa & Cabeza Prieta Box 1032 Game Range Yuma., Arizona Bureau of sport Fisheries & Wildlife

Larson, Parry A. New Mexico Game & Fish Dep t, 1914 - Box University Park, New Mexic,

Lee, Jim Ass' t. Information Officer Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Washington 25, D. C. gg!2 Agency Mailing Address

sonard, Albert Bureau of Land Management Dept. of the Interior Washington 25, D. C.

epak, Joseph W* U. S. Public Health Service Las Vegas, Nevada

c~olm,Merlin A* Nevada Fish and Game Comm. Box 73 Aus tin, Nevada

cColm, Mrs. Merlin A. Box 73 Austin, Nevada

kKnight, Tom Dept. of Geography Los Angeles, California University of California at Los Angeles

Uchael, T. J. Student 924 N. orris-Avenue University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona

Yllezzo, Sam Nevada Fish & Game Cm. Box N N Yerington, Nevda brgan, Hrs. Elizabeth 712 Vegas Drive - Las Vegas, Nevada

loel, Floyd C. U. S. Forest Service Forest Service Building Ogden, Utah

Cckard, James We Chief, Ranger - Lake Mead 1204 Avenue I National Recreation Area Boulder City, Nevada National Park Service latent. Rav Arizona Game & Fish Dept. Box 61 Seligman, Arizona

?owell, Lawrence E. Arizona Game & Fish Dept. Room 111 - Capitol Annex Phoenix, Arizona hffalt, William C. Student 902 E. Elizabeth Colorado State University Ft. Collins, Colorado

Bureau Sport Fisheries & Building 45, Federal Center Wildlife Denver, Colorado

~~SSO,John P. Supervisor, Arizona River Basin Project 1608 N. Old Colony Arizona Game & Fish Department Drive Mesa, Arizona

xii - Simmons, Norman M. Refuge Mgr., Cabeza Prieta Game Range Box 415 Bureau Sport Fisheries & Wildlife Ajo, Arizona

Sleznick, James Jr. Lake Mead National Recreation Area Box 656 National Park Service Boulder City, Nev

Smith, Roger A. Ass' t Mgr., Kofa Game Range Box 1032 Bureau Sport Fisheries & Wildlife Yuma, Arizana

Weaver, Richard A. California Department of Fish & Box 638 Game Niland, Calif.

Webb, Paul M. Arizona Game & Fish Deparment 5602 W. "Plariposa Phoenix 31, Arizon,

Wel.les, Mrs. Florence B. Box 283 Beatty, Nevada

Welles, Ralph E. National Park Service Box 283 Beat ty, Nevada

Welsh, George W. Arizona Game & Fish Department 801 Metcalf Rd. Kingman, Arizona

Williams, Nelson R. U of N at Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada

Wilson, Gene H. Bureau Sport Fisheries & Wildlife Box 436 E. Ias Vegas, Neva

Wood, John E. New Mexico State University Las Curces, New Me -- Yoakum, Jim Wildlife Specialist Box 1551 Bureau of Land Management Reno, Nevada

xiii DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL 1 9 6 3 AWARD

'Ock Darning

FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO LIFE HISTORY STUDIES AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

THE 1962 DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL AWARDS COMMITTEE CHOSE MR. OSCAR V. DEMING AS RECIPIENT OF THE COUNCIL AWARD. THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD THE WELFARE OF THE DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

xiv "TAG-A-LONG"

Photo by JIM YOAKUM . A HISTORY OF THE BIGHQRN SHEEP IN CZNTRAL HEVADA

Merlin A. McColm, Wildlife Manager Sierra Distrlct

Nevada Fish and Game Commission

INTRODUCPIOEJ Them is arldenk that the bighorn sheep existed on' at least four mountain ranges in Central Nevada within the memory of man, At present, only one of these ranges supports a population of bighorn rrheep and it appears that the size and range of this population is much reduced, DISTRIBUTION

Toiyabe Ran@ . -Past - Bighorn sheep apparently existed in the f'ull length of the Toigabe Rsngs south of Austin and in the Mount Gdhghan-Hall Creek-Cowboy Rest area north of Austin uhen the central part of the state was first settled in the 18601s. The Toiyabe Range is a major group of aotmtains about UO miles .in length that runs north and south through the central ------pi&-of--the=state,- - This-range -ends--- 80th -of the-old- -- - - mining community of Austin ,nd 40 miles north. Big Smoky and Grass Valleys border the east side of the range, and Beeee River and Carico Lake Valleys bound the west. South of Austin the range is characterized by high rugged peaks, (the two highest< baing Bunker Hill and Arc ~o~ljboth of which have elevation. in excesa of ll,m feet, North of Austin the rangs is lmr in elevation and the terrain is leas rugged. The highest muntain in this part of the range ia Mount Ughanwhich has an elevation of 10,200 feet. I&. I&. Bert Bcree, an elderu, life-long resident of Austin, recalls that hie father, Hr, Tom Acree, apoke of seeing mountsin sheep in the Birch Creek area of the Tombe Range between 1876 and 1878. At that time, according to Mr, Acree, his father was employed as a ioremau for the cattle company of Booker, Russell and Bradley and he spent much of his the uorking in the Toiyabe Bange immediately south of Austin.

Hr, George Dory of Austin recalls that his stepfather, Mr. Nathaniel Kivett, told him he had aeon wild sheep at the head of Wnlll Creek and Cawbop Rest while he was hunting mustangs for the U,S, Forest Service in the early 1900~s. Xr. KiVBtt, who is no longer living, was employed by the Forest Service shortly after it was organized. According to the Austin District Forest Ranger, the Toiyabe National Forest was organized in 1908. The Hall Creek-Cowboy Rest area is a short distance north of Mount Callaghan. Hall (1946), identified a part of a skull that was found 28 miles north of Austin as belonging to Ovis canadensis nelsoni. This skull was apparently found in the same general aremichHr. Kivett was reparted to bave seen Kild sheep. Fz. Charlie Keough is one of the few old timers still living in Central Nevada who nas familiar with the bighorn sheep in the early days. Mr. Keough was born in Austin in 1884 and he spent most of his life ranching in the south end of the Toiyabe Range, His father was a livestock operator before him and it was while herding cattle and sheep for his father that he first came in contact with bighorn sheep. Mr. Keough presently Uves in Peavine Canyon located .in the south end of the Toiyabe Range. Between 1907 and 1937 Mr. Keough believes there were 300 to 400 bighorn in the Arc Dome-Twin Rivers area. After 1937 he said they became very scarce. He killed several bighorn rsms on the white mountain that separates North and South Twin Rivers and killed other rams in Belcher, Cove and Jett Canyons. In 1916 Mr. Keough had the heads of two rams he had killed between the T#in Rivers mounted. These two heads were turned over to the Nevada fish and Game Department in 3.958 and were sent to Hr. E. Raymbnd Hall for identification. Mr. Hall concluded that the skulls were that of neleoni* Xerriam, the Desert Bighorn Sheep.

------_-- _ _ _The- -- f&st-- -bighorn - she_ep_swey made in the-To-gabe ______Range, of which there is a record, was conducted by the U.S. Biological Survey and the U.S. Forest Service in 1924, Mr. August Streshley of Austin who worked for the U.S. Biological Survey for many years, still has the notes he made on this survey in his field diary. He and Mr. Percy Nash of the Biological Survey and Mr. James McGowan, who was the Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor, packed into South Twin River during the last week in May of that year. They found fresh beds of a band of bighorn sheep (Mr. Streshley believes about 40 animals) on a ridge between the south fork and the middle fork of South MnRiver, They followed the tracks of this band into the bluffs where they gave up the trail. They did see one bighorn ram at the head of Belcher Basin.

An Austin resident, Hr. Ed J. Vigus, recalls that he saw three bighorn sheep rams in Smoky Valley along Nevada Highway 8A between Darroughfs Hot Spring and the mining town of Round Hountain in November of 1929. This is adjacent to currently occupied bighorn sheep range in the Toiyabes.

A bighorn ram was reported killed by an Indian at Gravelly Ford in Reese River Valley in 1937, and another Indian warking for Mr. Keough shot a ram that cane near the Peavine Canyon Ranch in July of 1938. A crmrill band of bighorn sheep was reported aeen on Bpnker Hill during the late 1930b. Skulls of this species an, still ocursionally found in this area. Bunker Hill is approxbxatelf 18'dles south of Austin,

Mrs. Jean Carver Matnay, who s and operates erla Station on 19evada Highuay 8A in Big Smoky Valley on the east side of the Towbe Range, reported seeing five bighorn sheep feeding in her bay corrQ on the opening day of the 1946 deer reason (octobes 6th). -- - - ~r.=i B. &ouch, a retired mining enginsir who. urea in Anatin, redlI.8 that a bighorn ram spent =lost of the rupl~erof 1946 in Kingston CanJon above the Eingston hch. aluay8 sen in the campmy of a large domestic bull.

The. pair becams quite a local attraction, but according to Mr. * Crouch, the fkiendship was terminated when someone shot the sheep.

Another ram was seen at the mouth of Kingston canyon during the summer of 1947. SeveraJ. people saw thia animal, including.Mr. huch aqd Mr. horge Dam. Thh was the last report. of bigaom sheep -wing seen in tnis portion of tne Tojyabe Bangee A sheep harder working for Mr. St. John Labordo, formsc Austin rancher. &port& seeing-a maall band of bighorn &eep in

------9~------m-ek------&a- -- -in the- - - t!nsirne-5------of - -1957. --- . - -~et~ - -Gek- -- - basin------is ------jmt north of the hder-~yeCountp line and about three miles

It is very likely that bighorn Sheep no longer exist ip,the Toiyabe-Range north of Clear Creek. No evidence of their presence has .been-f owd north of this drainage by Nevada Fish and Game Department personnel and no recent sight records have been received from other aourcea,

- - * Present .- During Harch of 1958, Nevada Fish and Game hparbmt .peraonael conducted the firat Toiyabe bighorn sheep . -. mmq in an attempt to gather information concerning distribution and relative abtuldance. The survey was conducted along the bsae of the east side of the Tombe Range between the extreme south end of the range and Aiken Creek. Fortpone sheep wars #potted by the tbret, department personnel that participated in - the aurwy, Heavy anom were largely responsible for the succssa of the 1958 survey, since the aheep were forced out of the high country and down to the base of the range. he following is a summary of tho results of the first and arbaequent Towbe bighorn sheep surveys carried out by Fish and Came Department personnel. Pear Elasla Enea Yearlin~a Unclasaified Total

1961 7 (seen dmiw summer range survey) ?

1962 2 9 1 0 12 * Does not include four sheep reported by a rancher. The majoslty of sheep seen during the early spring survey3 were in Jett Canyon but eheep have also been seen in Broad, North Twin, Hermiles and Last Chance Canyons, A rancher reported seeing four bighorn 8heep at the mouth of Aiken Creek in March of 1958. Department personnel checked this area immediately after the report uas received and found fre8h sign but no sheep.

Sheep wa~ in area in 1960, again, sign ale0 found this but - no sheep were aeen. A ram uaa reported seen in Aiken Creek in the summer of 1952. Uea&eek fa 15 dba aofih of the na~bm-mosti sighting8 made by game department personnel,

During the summer of 1961 the author saw seven mature ram3 on the big white reauntah between the Tuin Rivers. This is the same

ioned when ta -.- h&t were kijled in this &ea- hwemr, sheep wsre also seefl in South Tuin River and Belcher bash,

So far surveys have been conducted by plane, horseback and foot. None of the survey methods haw proved re= effective because of the extremely rugged terrain. A combination of foot and horseback work has produced the best results. The present bighorn sheep population in the Toiyabe Range is almost entirely confined to a 40 mile attrip along the east side of the range between Wall Canyon to the south and Clear Creek to the north. The center of the population appears to be in the North and South hrin Rivers area. The currently used range includes approdnvrtely 170 square miles.

Marmt Jefferson

Hall (op. cit.), report8 that a horn of a bighorn sheep was found on the mmmit of the south peak of Mount Jefferson. Mount Jefferson ia located in the Taquima Range about 50 zriilea southeast of Austin. It is the highest Mountain in Central Nevada and has an elevation of 11,949 feet. It is bordered on the . east by Monitor Valley and on the west by Big Smoky Valley. The top of this mountain forms a huge table but the sides are steep and rote - eepecially the west rride. . . No reparts of sighting8 of bighorn sheep on this mountain have been received during the past few years. Hawever., it is rumored that sheep were occasionally seen on this mountain up throw the late 1940qs. Roberts Mountains Mr. Peter Damele, a Lander County rancher, believed that . bighorn sheep existed on Roberts Mountains in the early days. Roberts Mountains are located approdaately 40 dies northeast of Austin, It is bounded on the wet by Garden Vslley an6 on the west by the Simpson Park Mountains. The highest pak ie Botierte Creek Mountain which has an elevation of 10,Ul feet. Bugged limestone bluffs and crags are typical of the higher ele- Qations. , .- .. &.+Damele has owned and operated several ranches in the viWtp of thia mountain during his life and he presently. owns the Dry (h.eek Ranch ih the Simpson Park Mountains. H8 recalls that an on picked up a bighorn sheep skull on Roberts g the early 1908'b. The Indian, acc- to bn to be more than casually interested in his find ;as the horns made excellent material of whloh to amake a "hondow he--ep-of a=lariat ,The -Indian, whose m-is Jim Buckskin,-is - - - still 35-g and he resides in Carlin, Blevsda. Nr. Damela said that his-brother, Steve, told him of a bighorn sheep he eaw at the head of HcC1usky Creek drainage in the fall of 1908. HeClusky Czwek drainage is a low pass through the Sbp8on Park Mountains and is anLy a few miles from the baae of Roberts Mountains. .

No recent reports have been received of bighorn sheep occurring in this range, Morey Mountain

Mr. Robert Willitma, currenkly of TonoMh, recall8 that when he -23 a by, during the dd-l920(s, Tndiane who worked on hi8 parent@ranch frequantlf hunted bighorn sheep on &bray Hountain. Horey Mountain is located in the Hot Creek Range appmximate- 1.y 60 miles northeast of Tonopah. It lies betmen Hot Creek Valley an the east and Little Fish Lake Valley on the west, It is a ~wtooth-formation of rocks with an elevation of 10,209 feet.

Mr. Willlam goes on to explain that a number of Indians that worked at the Hot Creek Ban& had a camp a short distance from the ranch house and that bighorn sheep skulls were a common . sight around this camp. In later years he recalls that he occa- aional3j sau skulls in the South Six Mile Canpn area. Mr. Williams said he never did see a live bighorn in this area. Another rancher who has lived in this same area for many years, Mr. John Titus, claims that he saw bighorn sheep on Morey Mountain during the 1930's. No aight records have been reported since that time.

POSSIBLE INFLUENCING FACTORS

The decline in bighorn sheep numbers in Central Nevada parallels man's history of range use and follows a pattern typical of the arid west. In an 1868 issue of the Reeae River Beveille, an Austin newspaper, an article mentioned that cattlemen were of the opinion that no Finer grassland range could be found anmere than in Reese River Valley where the grass was nearly three feet high. The following is a quotation from an article found in the August 18, 1873, issue of the Reveille "----Pmbably the canyon at the head of Reese River Valley is the finest field for aprtsmen in the state; the stream and a= its tributaries abound in mountain tmut as delicious as they are abundant. Grouse and sage fowl are as plentiful upon the hills 8s hesdipms in §an Pra~cfseoaab the heart sf the hunter is occasionally gladdened by a shot at a deer or antelope. In less than three days fishing our party captured nine-hundreci and twenty- ==seven=-speckledape cimens of the--genus - sdlmo and- in a -farho hunt a couple of shootists bagged fifty-three grouse and sage fowl. The feed is excellent, the hills being covered with bunch grass and the bottoms with a luxuriant growth of meadow herbage. The head-waters of Reese River is the sportsmen's paradise, nature supplying all hia necessities except whiskey, a goodly mpply of which we recommend our sporting friends to take along, in case of snake bite, pneumonia or water brash."

Newspaper reporting techniques are not the only changes that have taken place since this flowery article was written. The hills in this area are no longer covered with bunch grass. The lush meadows mentioned have been invaded by brush or scoured out by erosion. The stream bed in many places is nothing mare than a ditch cutting deeper into the soil after every rain or spring run-of f.

The livestock industry became important after the initial boom in mining. The peak of the cattle industry w+s reached around 1900 while the domestio sheep industry reached its peak in the early 19Z01s. Mr. Vigua, of Austin, claims that around 1910 there were. over 25,000 head of cattle being grazed in the Toiyabe Range. Mr. Vigus operated a ranch in Big Smoky Valley and recalls that many individual ranches ran several thousand head of cattle. During the early 191)01s tran- sient sheepmen moved in and grazed thousands of sheep on ranges that &re' already heaw stocked by local ranchers. In addition to domestic livestock, thousands of mustangs roamed the range. Attempts were made to control this animal on Natonal Forest land8 but mustang numbers were not really brought under control until after World War 11, At present there are probably fewer livestock gra& on the public range in Central Nevada than at any time ,since the land was first settled, Several drought years combined with the' cumu- lative effects of 100 years of range abuse have reduced the livestock industry to a rewant. ".- her were so uncommon when Central le;Pada was first settled thaf'.&h encounter with this animal was usually hught to the attention of the local newspaper, Deer remain6d fairly acarce until the mid-1920's and then started to increase fairly rapidly, This situation was not peculiar to Nevada alone as Aldous (1945) reported that in 1925 there wasxnot one mule deer problem area in the intermountain states, During 1929, Mr. Torgerson, Austin District Forest Ranger, estimated that the xnule deer population between Austin and Summit Creek in the Tolyabe Range, (a distance of about 40 miles) was about 500 and he believed the7 were increasing. By the mid-1930ts the mule deer poptilation in the Toiyabe Range had reached incredible proportions. Same Austin reside& claim that when the Toiyabe deer herd reached its peak that-508 to 1,000 deer could be counted on almost any summer evening in Kingston Canyon alone, During the spring of 1938 ' the U.S. Forest Service conducted the first spring deer ride along - - --the-foothi-1;1s=of-the-east- side of-the- ToQab+we0 -- On-this -Sirst------ride 1,299 deer were counted in a distance of seven miles. The U,S, Forest Serirlce was the first to express alarm over the size of the Toiyabe deer herd and made every effort to initiate a deer reduction program, Finslly, in 190, two special antlerless hunts we- held in the Toiyabe me. The deer herd eruption was not confined to the Toiyabe -8. It took place over all of the central part of the state. Continued depletion of brush ranges have resulted in a steady decline in deer numbers since their peak in the 19301s. Attempts to control the deer population by hunting have met with little success. - !Che US. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Manage- ment are in the process of establishing range carrying capacities based on detailed range sweys and they are adjusting domestic livestock use accordingly. #any range rehabilitation projects in the form of crested wheatgrass reseedings have been completed and many more are planned. These reseedings should ultimately take a considerable amount of grazing pressure off of the high ranges. Hunting

Whether hunting had a great influence on past bighorn sheep populations in Central Nevada cannot be known. However, if the bighorn was ever subjected to heavy hunting pressure, it would have been duri the period of greatest 'mining and livestock activity (1862 - 198. It was during this period that the human population reached its peak. Probably more si~ificantwas the nature of the population, Many people lived in iaolated localities and they undoubtedlg lived off the land to the extent it was possible. Logging and mining operations were carried on in the heart of bighorn sheep ranges on several occasions. Fortunately the bighorn normally inhabits country that discourages all but the most persistent and energetic hunters. fans that were passed in an attempt to protect this animal were often ignored by the local people, Bighorn sheep ,were hunted openly as recently as 20 years ago, even though the season had been closed since 1917. Mr. Keough thinks that he killed about 16 bighorn rams in the Arc Dome-Twin Rivers area in the Toiyabe Range between 1907 and 1938. During this same period he knew of several bighorn taken by other hunters.

The number of bighorn sheep killed by hunting has probably declined steadily with the decline in human population. Illegal hunting is less and less a problem as a result of improved law enforcement,, and probably more important - the change in attitude of the general public.

The first law passed to control hunting of the bighorn sheep uas %n1893, me season opened Aqmt 1, and ran through November 30. There was no bag limit. In 1895 the season was changed to September 1, to December 31. Hunting seasons on bighorn

-- - - ~_=sheep=.were=;cloaed-in~191~,~----=- - -:------P ----

In 1962 the Toiyabe Range was opened to the hunting of bighorn sheep for the first time since 1917. Twenty permits were issued for the takbg of rams with horns that had a three- quarter curl or better. The two week season ran frola September 9, to 23. - Disease If dokstic sheep diseases were ever a threat to native bighorn populations there is no record of it now. Accordiag to Mr. Keough, sheep scabies was prevalent in domestic sheep until dipping started in the 1890ta. He beliavea that this disease was Gge4eliminated by 19U. Mr. Keough recalls that he saw one old bighorn ram on the side of Arc Dome in the Toiysbe Range in the early 19OOts that he believes may have had aheep scabies. Parta of the animal's ears, tail and nose were miasing and there were bars patches of hide where hair had fallen out,

Some Characteristics of tha Present Raw-

Existing bighorn sheep range is a natural refuge that includes the most rugged portion of the Toiyabe Range. Much of this area is inaccessible to domestic livestock and, to some extent, deer. Water is abundant. Small streems are found in all major drainages and springs are nmaerous throughout the high country. Annual precipitation on the high ranges averages 12 to 15 inches a Y-• The high ranges, where the bighorn spends most of the year, are in the Boreal and Bansition Zones while the lower ranges are in the Upper Sonoran. As far as is known, the lower ranges are used only for short periods during the winter and spring months. I3FE HISTOBY Very little is known about the life history of the bighorn in the Toiyabe Range. Breeding is %ho&t to occur in October and November, and lambing in April aad May. Hawsvsr, them are no obaervations on which to base these .mnclueions,

-During the mid-l920'a, several ewes in a band of domestic sheep that had been herded in the Toiyabe Range south of Austin gave birbh to hybrid offspring as a result of croeeing' wi6h bighorn sheep. The euea belonged to the Birch Creek Banch and were thought to have been bred the prerioua October or November. The lambs were born in AprU and most of them died. However, one sera waa raised to araturity and it was kept as a pet by the owner of the ranch.

During most of the year the bighorn sheep are found in the cool altitudes of the limber'pine belt snd they come down to the lower slopes only when forced by heavy snow or are attracted by the - firsLgrem gr&h_iahtheespxring .-__-___ _ - ___- - -- _- _ - ---_ -- mCLwIa The bighorn sheep in Central Nevada were confined to rather smsll, isolated areas and they were not present in large numbere within the,m-ry of maxi, They disappeared early in the 20th Century in the Toiyabe Range north of Bustin and on Roberta EZountaias, Wesmall. populations lingered on Into the 19308s on Morey Mountain and possibly into the 1940% on Mount Jefferson. While the bighorn eheep still eldsts in the Tolyabe Range south of Austin, its numbers have declined and its range has shrunk. On the surface it appears that the decline in bighorn sheep numbera is linked with general range deterioration,

Drrring the last two years the U, S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Iaad Management have speeded up range conservation programs. These programs may eventually have far reaching effects on game habitat since moat of Nevada~sbig game rangee are administered by these two agencies. If these present programs bear ftuit, it is within the realm of possibility that bighorn sheep populations may once again be establiehed on some of their former ranges. Perhaps the bighorn sheep has survived the most critical period,

Aldoua, Clarence H. 1945. A Winter Study of Mule Deer in Nevada. Journal of Wildlife Management, 9 (2): U5-151,

Hall, Eo Raymond 1946. Mammals of Nevada, University of California . - Press, Berkeley and Ins Angeles, Galif. 642, H60. Correspondence with levada Fish & Game Dept. McColm, Merlin A, 1958-1962. Uscellaneous reports tram the files of the Nevada Fish and Game Dept,, Austin, Nevada, F&em Biver Reveille UnEmown issue, 1868. Bol. XVIII, August 18, 1873. From the fibs of the Lander Comty Court Houas, Austin, Nevada.

U.S. Forest Service 1929-1938, Miscellaneous reports from the files of the Austin District Ranger Station, Austin, Nevada. 1962 PROGmSS AND HUNT REPORT--NEVADA Ray Brechbill Nevada Fish and Game Commission Hiko, Nevpda

Last fall saw the completion of the 10th desert bighorn sheep hunt-held : in the State of Nevada. Another new area was opened to hunting in 1962-- : Area 17, in the Toiyabe Mountain Range in Nye County. Twenty (20) tags were @ issued for this area-and four (4) sheep were taken. A11 four (4) animals were R killed above the 10,000-foot elevation.. The sheep taken were all considered b: to be in good condition--all were very fat; and had -good teeth and no ticks. t:Hunters in this new area were warned that the area was extremely difficult to hunt, and were advised to provide for at least a one-week period in the area. / It was the opinion of the game manager, who supervised this hunt, that there was 1 not a single hunter who was properly equipped for the hunt. . Several of the ':.hunters stated that the country was "--just too rough to hunt in." i, 2- L A total of 530 applications were made for the 120 tags available in the !'five (53 hunt areas, an increase of 231 applications over the 1961 hunt when : 100 tags were available. As usual, Area B-2, the Sheep Range, was the most popular, with 174.residents making applications for the 30 tags available, .and 80 non-residents making applications for the five (5) non-resident tags which were available. There were 130 applications for 35 tags in Area-B-3, which was nearly double the 72 applicants in 1961. There were 16 applicabtsrfor the 10 tags in Area B-1, 60 made application for the 20 tags in 'Area 21, and 70 made application for the 20 tags in Area 17. .Odt of .the 1'20tag holders, 18.3% were re-

_ _ ~p-ea2-hunters .: _ __- ______- ___---_- - - _--_ - - __- - _-- p----.- = For the first time since bighorn sheep hunting started in Nevada, non- residents were given a chance at this trophy animal. Five (5) non-resident tags were authorized by the Nevada Fish anbGame Commission for Area B-2, the Sheep Range. These tags were authorized in the late spring of 1962 and no special publicity was given out concerning them. In spite of this, 80 applications were received for the five (5) tags, which shows the interest that this type of hunt holds for non-residents. All five (5) of the tag holders were residents of California. All but 2 or 3 of the non-resident applications came from California, these few being residents from Arizona., Out of the 5 non-residents, 4 were successful

A total of 33 bighorn rams were harvested during the 1962 hunt--from Area B-1, 4; Area B-2, 13; Area B-3, 9; Area B-21, 3; and the new Area B-17, 4.

The average Boone and Crocket score during the hunt in Areas B-1, B-2, and B-3, was 145, which was close to six (6) points lower than the past three (3) year average. The largest trophy sheep killed during the 1962 hunt was taken on the Sheep Range in Area B-2. The Boone and Crocket score on this sheep was 182-2/8 which should place it among the top 20 heads.

As in past years, all data collected in Are2lb.B-1 and B-2, and manning of the checking stations in these areas were handled by the Desert Game Range personnel. Hock joints were collected and turned over to Dr. Edward Fountain for continued studies on radio-active uptake. Nearly ideal weather conditions prevailed during the hunt in Areas B-1, B-2, and B-3, as opposed to last year's stormy weather; however, the hunt results were nearly the same for both years. Sheep were sited by hunters from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the alluvial fans.

One new change was made in the hunt regulations. Starting with the 1962 hunt any person who drew a tag became automatically disqualified from entering the following year's drawing.

Hunters utilized 337 sheep-hunting days in Areas B-1, B-2, and B-3 to harvest 26 sheep, or about 13 days per sheep. Hunters observed a grand total ,of 671 sheep in Areas B-1 and B-2, and 145 sheep in Area B-3. Nineteen (19) sheep were reported by hunters in the new Area B-17. The average dressed weight of sheep taken from the different hunting areas was: Areas B-1 and B-2, 107 lbs.; Area B-3, 102 lbs. ; Area B-17, 130.5 lbs. The kaviest f ield-dressed weight was obtained from a sheep taken in Area B-17. This sheep was estimated to be 11 years old, and dressed out at 152 lbs.

Following are the dates of hunts which were held in each quota unit:

Quota Unit Season Dates B- 1 Pintwater Dec. 14-17 B- 2 Sheep Range Nov. 24 - Dec. 9 B- 3 Area Outside Sheep Range Nov. 24 - Dec. 17 B-17 Toiyabe Range Sep. 9-23 B-21 Silver Peak Area Sep. 16-30

----Both=Area s=B-+7-and- B--2 1- held Septembe~-hunhs . - The - ear-1-y- hunLwa s- he ld-in-Area - B- 21-i === in order to gather data from sheep at an earlier part of the year than it was I during the November hunt last year. This may partially explain the hunter success , dropping from 50% to 15% in this area. Area B-17 held its early hunt because it was feltthetit might have been difficult, weather-wise, to hunt at a later date at.' such high elevations.

Since 1958, the sheep hunts-in Areas B-1, B-2, and B-3 have been held under ? identical regulations. The season dates, by area, have been the same, the number of tags the same, and hunting results very nearly the same; however, kill locations' and the weather conditions during the hunts have varied. As they say, in Las ~egas,; "It's 10 to 1 that next years results will be comparable to those of the past five (S).years, if -the hunt mechanics remain the same."

1958 Fall Hunt 24 Days 80 30 39.0 1959 PallHunt 24 Days 80 - 36 47.4 1960 Fall Hunt 24 Days 80 2 7 35.0 1961 Fall Hunt 24 Days 80 22 36.7 1962 Fall Hunt 24 Days 80 26 35.5 1963 Fall Hunt 24 Days 80 28 (28--?) 38.7 (38.7--?)

During the 1962 hunt on Area B-2, the Sheep Range, two (2) hunters, cited by the Federal Game Agent, were taken to the U. S. Commissioner's Court in Boulder City, and fined $50.00 and $35.00, respectively. These sheep were con- fiscated and turned over to the Salvation Army. The hunters were cited for not having taken a mature animal, although the sheep did have approximate 3/4 curls. One of the personnel supervising the hunt nicely phrased it, when he asked one of the hunters "...if he was after a grand slam or a lamb slam." The average age of the sheep harvested in Areas B-1, B-2, and B-3, in 1962 was 6.8 years, with a spread in ages from 2-1/2 to 16 years. Counting annual horn rings was the method used to age all the sheep.

During the last 10 bighorn sheep hunts in Nevada 250 sheep have been harvested. One hundred and forty sheep have been aged using the horn annual growth rings method. Of these sheep 15, or approximately 10.776, have been in the 0- to 4-year age class. Boone and Crocket records have been recorded on 201 normal sheep heads. Using the arbitrary Boone and Crocket score of 125 and below as a designation for young animals, it was found that 21 sheep out of the 201,~or10.4%, could be classified as young. Although it appears that there is some correlation between annual horn rings and Boone and Crockett scores in the young age class sheep, much more work is needed in correlating ageing techniques of Desert Bighorn sheep.

Again, this year, all hunters were given an indoctrination before the hunt, as to what was a legal animal. The problem of harvesting a few younger rams during the hunt seems to persist. This is the first year that a hunter has actually been - taken to court and fined for this violation. A total solution to this problem seems nearly impossible, considering the type of hunt and the pressure on the hunter to score.

A proposed new road from Las Vegas to Lake Mead and then up Lake Mead to Echo Bay on the Overton Arm of the Lake will soon make it possible to follow a ------large=-loop=E~om-Las-Vegas=to=Overton-and--return~-Th-ls-new-road-wi=l=l===cut-through- the Muddy Mountains in an area that, up to this time, was nearly inaccessible, except by jeep or boat. It will be interesting to assess any effect this new highway may have upon the bighorn sheep in this area. Several sheep each year are killed by automobiles on the Hoover Dam highway, and such accidents may well occur on this new road. As one of our Conservation Agents put it: "It's going to make a --wonderful poaching road.',

Sheep hunters are required to fill out a hunter report form at the end of the hunt. A blank is left on these forms for their remarks pertaining to the hunt. The following quotes are typical of the hunters' written remarks: "I saw sign in a few places but'did not see any sheep." "I hope to know more about their habits before hunting again." "Very difficult to hunt--nobody-knows or will tell you anything about them." "Should be a longer season." "Season should be held before the rutting season." "All the sheep seemed to be in excellent condition." '"Tough hunt." "Excellent hunt." "Season should be held when rams are more available." "I underestimated sheep hunting, but I want to try again if it takes five years." "Most hunters on their first sheep hunt are very surprised and sometimes a little hurt at how tough a hunt it is, but it is this same toughness which makes this hunt so popular and makes Mr. Desert Bighorn such a desirable trophy animal. NEVADA -- DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP ' -- SUMMARY OF ALL HUNTS 11 ALL HUNTS Total Tags Total (Days) TAGS AVAILABLE (Number / NUMBER SUCCESSRlL Number %Total (Number Actually Hunted) ~ctually/I (% SuccessEul) SuccessEul Hunter YEARS SEASON -B-1** -B-2** -B-3**- B-17** B-21** Hunted) / B-I** --B -2** B-3** B-17** B-21** Hunters Succ. * Spring 5 0 50 1 195 2 (18) ---(48 (48) / Spring 60 195 3 (25) --(53) Spring 12 48 1954 (15) - -(12) -(48)

I 1955 NO HUNT HELD I NO HUNT HELD --- I -- Fall 2 5 15 4 0 25 1 1956 (22) (25) (12) - (37) 1 -- (100) (8.3) 26 70.2 --- I Fa 11 10 30 20 60 2 19 4 195 7 (16) (7) (30) (20) (57) (28.5) --(63.3) (20.0) 25 43.9 I Fall 10 35 35 80 I 3 16 11

Fa 11 10 1959 (24) (8) Fa 11 10 196 0 (24) (9) Fall 10 1961 (24) (7) Fa 11 10 1962 (24) (8)

60 242 , 368 20 40 730 17 125 92 4 12 1 TOTAL (216) ---(48) (236) (346) (20) (38) (68818 (34.5) -(53.0)- (26.6) (20.0) (30.0) 250 36.6 I -k Success figures were based on the number of hdmters who actullly hunted. **B- 1 Pintwater Range I B- 2 Sheep Range I 1952-1953 were guided hunts B- 3 Clark and Lincoln Counties I 1954-1956 were supervised hunts 7 Toiyabe Range 1957-1962 were sup-supervised hunts 8-21 Esmeralda County I killed 'I I t I

I I I ! -1 I .. I -.I

'. *\. Kt Bighorn . I or Sheep ~illea- A ! *LIXJLN I No. -Range Since 1952 . I -1. Silver Peak 12 I ., 1 2. Toiyabe h 3. Grant - I I 4. liillow Creek - -5 Bald &. - 6. Pahranagat - 7. Pintwater 17 6. SheepLas Vegasl2S 9. Arrow Cayon 2 10. Meadow Valley 5 11. Monmn bits. b . 12. bddy Lits. 39 13 Feed -ibck - 1L. Potosi ?Kt. 11 15. Bird Spring 3 16. Table Noutain 2 17.. Devil s Peak 2 1e. UcCwllough Mtn 1313 - 22. Luning Summit ,-'\. 17. EldoraduEldorado narlhenarlke 7 23. Quartz CIountainUounta5n . - \ ; 2G. Hart Ktn. 1 24. Cane Spring Road - '.. \:j 21. Spirit Etn. 1 25. mite Eountains - Hema&ez Corzo - We are condidering opening a limited hunting season in . Mexico in the near future.' I wonder if I could have a copy of this paper before it appears in the transactions since it contains much information of a practical aspect about hunting that we could profit by. Brechbill - Yes, this afternoon or tomorrow. Simmons - Did I understand you to say that you have some critical range in your hunting areas?

Brechbill - I'd like to turn that question over to Dr. Hansen. msen - I can only speak for the Desert Game Range and we do have some areas where there are more sheep than what there should be, for the range.

Simmons - In these areas have you asked hunters to return stomach samples? ~rechbill- Yes, on the Game Range and outside in the county. Simnons - DO you intend to continue to collect stomach samples? Brechbill - I'm sure that the Game Range will continue to collect samples. Question - What effect does or will trophy hunters have on hunters success? ~rrchbill- We do have them but as long as we have a few each year we will be getting the same percentage and it is only trend in£ormation anyway.

-- - -- . - - -- -.------Wilson - The Nevada State Law says a legal ram is one with a 3/4 curl and the federal law says one has to be a mature animal with a 3/4 curl. What is a 314 curl ram? Perhaps the Council could clarify this matter. This is a problem in law enforcement and nowhere is it described or defined ' in Writing. The State boys and I have even been kicking around the idea bf whether we need a 3/4 curl law or not. We can' t really use it so do we really need it?

JortaX - *at would be wrong with saying on our regulations "one male bighorn sheep". I know its pretty drastic but if we publicize the trophy animal aspect, we really wouldn't be doing anything different than we are doing now.

Bishop - Whp not require a license for hunting, especially for trophy animals? ~rd- You're on my pet subject now. In California, this regulation for hunting Standards is up to the commissioners not the legislators and perhaps it is in this state.

&o*eS - (shakes 'head). &J - No! Alright, I'11 go on to another thing. A1 (Jonez) if we relax this thing we will remove all standards and requirements. I don' t believe in this- There should be some standard. Sheep horns show a definite relationship with the skull and face. These could be determined and standards set that can be enforced and taken into court. These are least standards, good, bad or indifferent. Groves - I'd like to correct myself. A1 (Jonez) reminded me that there are some standards that could be inserted by commission regulations. Hansen - I anticipated this subject would come up so I brought along some pictures of our Corn Creek sheep. One of a yearling with practically a 3/4 curl and a 34 year old with horns well past the usual 3/4 curl mark. Consequently, we will have to establish definite standards of measurements.

Welles - (to Graf) - Did you really mean that it doesn't matter whether the standard is good, bad or indifferent? Graf - It does make a difference. I didn't mean it quite like that, but you set up a standard, it might be good or it might: be bad but at least you have a point you can measure by. Welles - But we should always be looking for a better standard. Graf - Yes, I'm all for that. LOOSE THINKING

Ralph E. Belles Park Naturalist Death Valley National Monument California

When I first mentioned the title of this paper to the program chairman I was.thinking in terms of odds and ends of observations and ideas not necessarily relatC ed to each other or important enough in themselves to be included in any assignment previously undertaken by me. Since then the subject has been mentioned on several occasions with such a variety of semahtic connotations as a result that I eventually fled to the dictionary for rhet- orical support for its use. There I found that *loose endsfl means afinal, relatively minor matters still to be taken care ofa, This was more or less what I had in mind although I had not thought of the subject matter as being sither of a firznl or relatively &or nat~re, It seems tc! me that the life history of the bighorn as we now know it, is filled with loose ends -- half-recognized factors in their survival pattern -- tentative @omlusions based on incomplete observations, or in some instances, on no observations at all -- and questions asked but unanswered. --.------.- -. . ------Loose ends\arenot damaging as long as they are recognized as such, but too often we find ourselves with a handful of'loose ends which appears to be a good strong usable base for action until the weight of applications falls through it like a sieve, One of the ways this hap~ensis through the error of mistaking a question for an answer. A question asked is a loose end until it is tied down by an answer. Yet we are sometimes strangely misled into believing that the recognition of a problem is its solution -- that knowing -what questions to ask means that we how the answers. This can be like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together' without knowing that some of the pieces are missing -- or perhaps there, but belong to another picture. This leaves us struggling with a problem which cannot be ansvered because we do not-possess the material from which a sound solution can be forged -- the data from which a productive project c an be launched. Still another connotation arises when a dominating factor is-removed from an environment in such a way that the remaining elements are left, as the saying goes, at loose ends -- suddenly disorganized by the removal of a coordinating agent on which they had become dependent, Then there is that personality ahich seems to be alaays at loose ends -- the misfit who makes up the in- tellectual breadlines throughout the world -- hovering in the shadows of learning, subsisting from ,.rehashes of other peoples? handouts because their own ntina is too disorganized to produce anything of its own. And finally there is the type of loose end that is left when action is taken based on the consideration of but one element in a complicated problem. Now all these phases of loose-endedness have a common denominator in that they represent something that is incomplete -- unfinished or unorganized, uncorrelated. Or, a~ldperhaps most importantly, unsup~orted,for it seems to me that the unsupported statement offered as evidence is the most undesirable and dangerous loose end of all. - In retrospect it would appear that it was at least partially from the acceptance of a mass of such loose ends that the great burro-bighorn fallacy was born -- largely from careless or malicious statements always made, . of course, by other people, I was riding down the floor of Death Valley one time with an eminent geologist who had spent more time in his field there than- my other man alive, I :.asked him what a streak of light colored rock running along the crest of a dis tant mountain might be and he began to teil me-what he thought an6 as he tzlked I began to virite down what I could. get of it. Suddenly he turned to me and said, nWhat are you doing?* I said, nIlm putting it d0wn.B He said, flCut it out. I'll tell you when to put it dom. You :asked me what I thought, and I'm telling you what I think -- but I don't publish what I think. I publish what I knowem Publishing only what we know and never what we think aould eliminate many loose ends in our literature of the bighorn, of course. In fact, it would practically eliminate the literature1 Our book,-WThe ~ighornof ~eath Valleyn would never have been wkitten -- or to say the least, xould have been very short -- had we put down only what we -how -- only those threads of knowledge which could be %oven into a final pattern of the wnole fabric of bighorn survival. So what I am struggling xith is not the idea of eliminating loose end thinking, but rather of recognizing it, understanding it and learning to evaluate it and to produce practical results with it. For example, any population estimate of the number of bighorn in Death Valley will always have to be based on loose ends of information or loose end data, and will consequently remain a loose end in itself. As long as this is properly evaluated and understood there is notharm in this. But should such an estimate be accepted as a proven fact, and be used to suggest an overpopulation of the region and an indication of a need for hunting it could conceimbly become catastrophic. In any case a population figure, even though it should reflect an exact and positive count, r emains a loose end until it is correlated to the entire biota in which it was made. The omission of any single factor such as the time of year the count was made, the relative forage conditions, the relative precipitation for that year correlated to the precipitation of the year before and the year before that and so on and so on through the entire list of factors ad infinitum. Neglected loose ends can lead to dead ends. I have a list of loose ends which 1 struggle with off and on and which threaten to fall into this category. In general, they take the form of questions which I c antt answer. Here are some about the 90% lamb mortality in Death Valley. mat causes it? How are you going to determine the - _ -_taus-e--ess-xou camfind - sick Jambs -or -dead- lambs2soon enough for successful autopsy? In an area like Death V what could you do about it if you did determine the cause? Would it be vise to do anything abzit if you could? Is it not possible that the high mortality is actually a construct- ive factor in the prevention of dangerous build-ups and die- offs such as took place in the Tarryalls? Is it true -- or possible -- that deer represent a potentially critical competition to the bighorn? Is it possible that we should have been eonsidering them much more dangerous to bighorn than burros were once considered to be? After all, we have on record several areas where deer seem to thrive and bighorn do not, and by the same token areas where - bighorn thrive and deer do not -- such as the Panamint Range in Death Valley. Big loose ends all3 Are we clear in our minds about #Hunting surplusR in bighorn ecology? What do we mean by whunting surplus^? How do we determine if one exists? Is it after all, necessary that one must exist before hunting -- controlled hunting -- can be permitted? Are there not some grounds for believing that some harvest is considered beneficial in a normal biota without consideration surplus How about stomach analyses? What c an they really tell us about food habits or food requirements unless they can be correlated to feeding behavior and to all the other factors in the biota contributing to the survival pattern of the animals concerned? mat was dominating the browsing activity of the animal when taken -- the nature of the food? The g eneral condition of the animal when it found the food? The type of leadership present? The weather, the terrain, and the time and distance from water? md how about the composition of the herd from which the animal was taken -- the age class and sex, with special reference to reproduc'tion, which may temporarily dominate both feeding and watering behavior? - Xas the animal taken in its normal home range in a normal year? Or had it been forced into a strange area on emergency rations by a critical drought, the drying up of food and water at its home base? Letts look briefly at the matriarchal system. How much depends on the old lady to whom the band seems to look for almost all decisions governing its survival patterns? She seems to decide when, where and what to eat, to d rink, to sleep and to be afraid of. The others follow her example, making use of the knowledge stored in her brain much as we did a few million years ago. gill her decisions about human encroachment decide the ultimate survival of her race? How important is she in establishing and perpetuating.captive s_s-om in4& pen-s-a b-1% --the-ne eds--of_-2r-e sent - day xessmc management? In view of the fact that it took the orig a1 matriarch at Corn Creek several years to nownn her lamb, would it not be dangerous if not actually catastrophic to allow her established strain to be broken by allowing the ewes born and raised in captivity to be removed from their already accepted environment? Or at least should we not make certain that any ewes so removed are actually surplus to the original perpetuation of the original strain? This brings us to the point of what are we actually doing to insure their survival? Is writing papers to and for each other to be the final objective of this conference? Is what we say or do here going to decide the issue, or should we be spending more time trying to reach the tax payer and trying to convince hin that public lands and the things that live there are aorth saving? Or should we leave that to Yalt Disney, whose ground squirrels tour the world on the backs of tortoises and ahose rams fight to the death to the tune of the UAnvil Chorusn? But let's not sell Disney short. gespite the fact that he runs the biggest boloney factory in the aorld he has also done more to save the bighorn than all other factors in the world put together! Certainly we all wish he could be more accurate. 9is pictures lzave the air buzzing with loose ends. 9ut that's not the only place we find them. There is a short preface to the next phase of this discussion. F or some reason which has never been quite clear to mo, it has been considzred out of order for an author to object to criticism of his work, no matter hoar unjustified the criticism might be. I do not propose .to argue that point -- that loose end -- here. But I do have some questions regarding this area of the Council~sobjectives. Are we not here dedicated to the search for truth -- for facts -- to accuracy in what we say -- and. write? Or do we want to leave to those younger than we who will follow us in this work, a legacy of carelessness with regard to these matters? Is any aord sacred -- either spoken or written -- beyond the degree to which it contributes to knowledge of its subject matter? And are not facts the very substance of knovrledg e? My attention was recently called to a review of our book about bighorn in the Journal of Bildlife ?!ai:agement, in uhich the' revieaer, who had spent several years in a bighorn area for the Fish and Wildlife Service, m&es some rather remarkable observations .v~hichillustrate my point. The first one that attracted my attentton was this: mThe authors are a husband and wife team who hsse demonstrated with this publication that ohe does not have to be of the ---p~oEesslonal-- cLass-to -make- a: reaL1-y-vaauable contr-ibution-to ------ivildlife management, provided he has the attribute of an in- telligent, unquenchable curiosity.* 'Nov, that sourided complimentary when I first read it, but actually it's a harpoon disguised as a lollipop if I ever saw one. Curiosity of any quality or quaatity is not the only qualification necessary for writing a book. !2= have that. And I would be interested in his definition of professional class. By the time the book was written I had been employed zs a naturalist for nine years by the National Park Service. And I had b een going along all tnat time thinking I -was professional. And besides that I got a passing grade in Ifatural Science in High School and a C in fres'man Biology at Szn Jose State. By ~ifegot a P in the sane course. Yie sat next to each other in the front rov and our understanding of biological situations developed rapidly froa then on. The next statement which struck me disclosed a loose end in the book. The reviewer gicked up the figure of 6 from the summary to quote as the number of years GS si-ent in tile field. This figure was tht? result of editoriz.1 con- fusion and referred only tb-.the intensive phase of our program from December 1954 to Karch 1961. It ignored the opening paragrash 09 the introduction in which the beginning of our ~~orkcas given as of January 1950. Ther~is quite s depre- ciation between 11 years of work and 6.

In %he same paragraph the revie-i~ersays that the book Ifrepresents about 130 days of daylight observatiog of bighoril in tk~ef ield.11 The summary gives the Gov~r-nment taily of hours of intensivs field work as 1693. Dividing that figure by the revie~fer1s 150 days gives a dayfs xork of 13 hours. I didn't kno~there was that much difference between the agencies. Divide 1593 by the Park Servicefs '8 hour day and you come up vith 212 days instead of 130. Anil finally, the reviewer said th~ithe "finds hirnsslf iu qxize complete agreemen-G with ths authorsf interpretation of their field findirgs, with on2 ra-tiler notable exception. Thi~is in thz: matter of Lasing an estimaie of t~enumber of bizhorn in Death Vaiiey ::ationai ?Jonusent on waterhole counts. A total population of 915 animals was im- puted fron only 174 animals actually tallied. This would akyesr to be invalid, as would the reasonairlg that if la quarter of the total populations in a givcn area were sighted ae xere lucky indecdf. Iil vie; of ti12 adjnittedly small, scattered, and possiblg nomadic population of bighorn in Death Valley, ic would seen best to av3ia lucking othl?r tlxin ultra-coaservative estirnstes for mnnagement purposes until really factual population iata are obtainable by means of aoce-ehausti-KeAtecimiques. n ---- -= ------This lzst paragraph almost makes me monder if he really read the boobyor did sorn:.; old Indian tell him about it!

Tile estimates were no'^ mzde from aateri~olecouiits alone but fron a11 sheep seea aliywhere in the Xonument at any time. Thz figures he took viere from 2able 12, 2ages 149-150, Eighorn Cerlsus Surveys in 3ea.th 'LTa-l;.y from 155 to 161. The 'rernarkabl~thing about that chart is that it contains 6 colus of figures from which ou: revieaer chose but two sith which to do his loose-ended thinking. Xere are the totals for your consideration: 1955 1955-59 1969-61 . Seen 7&st. Szen ?st. Seen Fst.

By these figures you will see that th? tots1 t ally was not 174 but 612. Had he read the discussion of Table 12 in the book he would have founu on 'page 156 that we suggested that for the f+rpose~ of discussion thr figures be rounded out to 900 as -the actual m~ximn. That 30 per c ent be d26ucted for errors in census-ing due to ram overlap and to provide for annual lamb mortality, lzavi~600 as the actual ninimum. Tho 905 is given to indicate the lamb crop at its peaz and the 605 represents xhat we believe to be the averzge carrying capacity of the total biota when annual lamb mortality has restored the balance around January 1 of each y2ar. Our reviewer also declared as invalid our reasozing that if a quarter of the total population in a given area ;eke sighted we were lucky indeed. In the first place this statement on page 151 -#as made in a discussion of the 1955 census only. The validity of this reasoning is sup1:orted by the fact that during the 1955 census se counted 20 bighorn on the entire west side of the Xonument in the Cottonwood and Fanamint Mountains. By Febru- ary of 1961 we had actually counted 217, or over 10 times the 1955 count in the sane area. His implication that our population data are not nreaily factualw lsaves a loose end of the most insidious ~~ature.If it is not factual, hat is it -- fictional? And hat more exhaustive techniques could be used to obtain this data than the way we did it. At least it exhausted us -- and has now probably exhausted you. ------.------.------.- So I will close by tieing down one more loose end. Last year, Ifm afraid, I might haw left the impression that no report from other observers could be regarded as valid. I don't want to leave that impression. You can believe that old Indian -- if hers tellin&-t& truth1 WATER METABOLISM IN DESERT MAMMALS With special Reference to the Desert Bighorn Sheep

William G. ~radley% University of Nevada Southern Regional Division

Introduction Mammals which inhabit the desert regions of the world are exposed to two major interrelated physiological problems: the maintenance of an adequate water balance and the maintenance of a suitable temperature range. The higher temperatures so typical of deserts often present the problem of an additional water requirement for temperature regulation. Although these problems are well known, especially to anyone iivwg in the deser-6, surprisingly littie is hiown concerning the water relationships of mammals native to the desert. This report reviews the literature concerning water metabolism in desert mammals and offers suggestive conclusions which may be of value to those working with desert mammals and,

- - -_--__ in particular the- desert bighorn_- -_ sheep. - --______.-_-_ The water exchanges which take place in mammalian systems may be classified as follov~s: (1) Intake of water drinking water free water in food oxidation of hydrogen (metabolic water) of water in the urine the feces by evaporation from the lungs and skin (~vaporative cooling by sweating and panting is a means of reduction of.heat load by the expenditure of water. This is an additional loss added to the water normally lost from the lungs and skin.)

* This paper was written while the author was attending the University of Arizona, Department of Zoology, as a National Science Foundation Science Faculty Fellow. Dill (1938) classified animals living in the deserts into those which must take in water by drinking and those which may remain in water balance from the water found in their food. A more meanin ful classification was used by K. and B. Schmidt- Nielsen (19527. They separated desert mammals into those who regularly use water for temperature regulation and those who avoid temperature extremes and do not normally use water for temperature regulation. In general, the rodents, lagomorphys, and carnivores fall into the latter group and the larger grazing or browzing mammals into the former. Table I is a compilation of significant features of the water relationships of selected species and should be referred to for details and for an understanding of this yeport. Mammals which do not norm all^ emend water in the regulation of temperature It is well hown that many small rodents live in desert areas where drinkin water is not available over long periods of time. Buxton (19237 has gathered information on animal life in deserts but did not deal specifically with the physiology of water metabolism. Members of the family Heteromyidae kept in captivity on a diet of dry food are reported by Stephen (1906), Biley (19231, and Howell and Gersh (1935). Ecological studies of desert mammals by Vorhies and Taylor (1940) and Vorhies (1945) conducted in Arizona point out the relationship of the microclimate and.diet to an understanding of water relationships. Even earlier, Sumner (1925) clearly pointed out that desert

- - rodentsb-u-r-ro-Ging-an survive -ibTnoC~t-lC.hhabb~tt~ in the desert by avoiding.--.B5d-e-memeerr-f dehydration lr9.T7r)-~SStatedddd both by --.--- = that burrowing marnmals are more numerous in the deserts of the world. In forests only 6% of the mammals live below ground as contrasted with 723 in the deserts. Only recently has the water metabolism of desert mammals been given serious attention by physiologists. The ~chrnidt-~ielsens,in investigating the water metabolism of Dipodomys merriami, have pioneered the way to a better understanding of water relationships in small mammals. Reviews and discussions of water metabolism which are especially valuable are those by the Schmidt -Nielsens (l952), Bodenheimer (1957 ), and Chew (1961). From the studies of the Schmidt-Nielsens and collaborators (1948a, 1948b, 1948c, 1949, lgwa, 1950b, lggc, 1951, 1952, 1953) and B. Schmidt-Nielsen (1954, 1955), the following generalizations may be drawn. Dipodomys merriami can maintain water balance on water obtained from its food (metabolic water plus a small amount of free water in the diet). 1t conserves water by avoiding heat stress, reducing evaporation, and producing dry feces and concentrated urine. Other heteromyids have similar adaptations for living in the deserts. Small rodents of the family Cricetidae appear to be less adapted to the North American deserts orhi hies and Taylor, 1940; Vorhies, 1945; Lindeborg, 1952; Chew, 1955). Species of the genera Peromyscus and Onychomys need some succulent food. to maintain water balance. This is especially true of the genus Neotoma. The studies of Vorhies and Taylor (1940) and Lee and MacMillan (1959) both stress the importance of succulent food, especially cactus, in the diet. Schmidt -Nielsen, et al. (1948a), after a study of Neotoma albigula under laboratory~onditions, stated that it is adapted to living in the desert not by ability to conserve water but by its ability to feed on cacti. Members of the rodent family Sciuridae which live in deserts are diurnal and therefore come in contact with higher environmental temperatures. Hawbecker (1947, 1953, 1958), in his studies of Citellus nelsoni, pointed out that this diurnal ground squirrel avoids heat stress by being active during the early and late hours of the summer day and, while diet is largely governed by availability, succulent food is consumed when available during the summer months. Bartholomew and Hudson (1959, 1961) and Dawson (1953) have investigated a closely related species Citellus leucurus. Their findings show that this ground squirrel is adapted to the desert environment by a tolerance to dehydration, production of a concentrated urine, a tolerance to hyperthemia, avoidance of excessive heat stress, and the consumption of succulent foods. Other members of this family such as Cynom s fulvus in Asia and Citellus tereticaudus and Citellus+ mo avensis in the United States enter estivation when ------8he =vegeta=b&=on--d~Ies -up - and- suc cuaent -f ood--2s --no - longe~-ava=iclable ==- (~orhies,1945; Bodenheimer, 1957; Ehrtholomew and Hudson, 1961). Lagomorphs which are so common in our Southwestern deserts are largely nocturnal. Jack rabbits (~epuscalifornicus, -L. alleni) have no burrows for avoidance of hemthough they are commonly seen "shaded up" under vegetation during the heat of the day. However, they endure more heat stress than any of the mammals discussed so far. Vorhies (1945) reported that jack rabbits in Arizona used green grass as food after the winter rains but that these rabbits switched to a diet of mesquite and cactus during the arid early summer months. The Schmidt-Nielsens (1952) concluded that although sweat glands are absent, considerable water is lost by eva~orationfrom the skin. Further, they thought that the large highly vascularized ears might play an important part in temperature regulation. Among carnivores there appears to be no major difficulties in maintaining water balance as long as they do not use water for heat regulation (~chmidt-~ielsens,1952). The North American carnivores common to deserts such as Vulpes, Canis, Taxidea, and Lynx are largely nocturnal and avoid heat stress. Marais (1914) found that a wild dog (~ycaonpictus) was the only . medium to large size mammal not to suffer from an absence of available water during a prolonged drought in South Africa. The major adaptations in the mammals considered so far are the conservation of water and the avoidance of temperature extremes. K. Schmidt -Nielsen (1954) pointed out that upon exposure to abnormally high temperatures the kangaroo rat will use water for evaporative cooling by salivation. This emergency heat regulation cannot continue for long. Since the relative surface area is greater in a small than in a large animal, a small animal which uses water for temperature regulation uses comparatively large quantities. He calculated that the theoretical water losses to keep the body temperature constant under desert conditions would be 21.57 of body weight per hour in the kangaroo rat, 4.796 per hour in the jack rabbit, 1.47y per hour in man, and 0.77 per hour in the camel. Evaporation rates under actual desert conditions in the southwestern United States were 1.2470of body weight per hour for the donkey and 1.413 for man. Therefore, except as an emergency measure for short periods of time, temperature regulation by the expenditure of water is 3mpossible in small desert mammals. Mammals which normally expend water in the regulation of temperature Khowiedge or? the water relationsnips or' tne larger mammals inhabiting deserts and arid regions of the world is inadequate. Bodenheimer (195'7) discussed many of the larger ungulates of the Old World deserts. Antilope subgutturosa and Equus hemionus are known to migrate to water in the deserts of

- - --&Gxew_ _(1 92 6), _ hew ever,-- state s_t%tSx-se-_?z&e ls_ _ -_ - = never drink in the Gobi Desert. Bodenheimer states that all of the larger mammals of the Sahara Desert (~ddax,Oryx ~azella) do not drink for many months at a time. ~arruth~[1995) believed that in Arabia Oryx beatrix can do without drinking for indefinite periods. Bu*F(meported a small gazelle (~azellaarabica) as occurring on islands in the Red Sea which are without any permanent water sources. Bryden (1936) found that many of the larger mammals of the Kalahari Desert of South Africa were in good condition after several months without a source of drinking water. Bodenheimer also stated that many of the larger mammals of the Kalahari do not need water but pointed out the importance of large succulent fruits, tubers, and bulbs as sources of food. Although the physiology of these mammals is unmown, the many observations recorded in the literature indicate that at least some of the larger mammals may go for long periods of time without drinking. Water requirements of the larger mammals living in the southwestern deserts of North America are not accurately known.

A study of the Desert Bighorn Council Transactions reveals no uniformity of opinion as to the water requirements of desert sheep. Monson (1958) felt that most of the sheep on the Cabeza Prieta Game Range in the summer of 1956 did not drink from July 1 until 6 months later. He also reported the possibility that desert sheep living in the California desert may never drink. Graves (1961) believed that, under conditions of maximum temperatures and minimum green food, most desert sheep on the Cabeza Prieta and Kofa Game Ranges will water every 3 to 5 days. Wells and Wells (1961) reported that desert sheep in Death Valley drink every day during hot weather if they are near water but that periods up to 3 days without water are not uncommon. They could find no evidence that sheep could survive without free water durin the winter or at higher elevations. K. Schmidt -Nielsen (19567 found that domestic sheep, donkeys, and camels can go without water for approximately 3, 4, and 12-17 days, respectively. There is some basis for believing that the large mammals of our southwestern deserts need water more frequently than do similar animals of the Old World deserts. While the mechanisms of water metabolism of most large mammals is not well known, the physiology of certain domestic mammals characteristic of arid regions has been rather extensively studied. Lee and Phillips (1948) have studied the adaptability of livestock to climatic stress. The presence of sweat glands in cattle and their importance in evaporative cooling is pointed out by Dowling (1958) and Nay (1959). However, the greater heat tolerance of Bra'nman cows does not appear to be correlated with efficiency of sweating but with \ their greater surface area per unit weight which in turn results in greater heat dissipation by convection, radiation, and vaporization (Dukes, 1955). Their lower basal metabolism may Lso- -be-an - important - factor=_inincreased heat tolerance. _ ___-_ The water metabolism of the camel has been investigated by the Schmidt -Nielsens and collaborators (1956, 1959). !Their work has been reviewed in the transactions of the Desert Bighorn Council (~oplin,1960) so it will not be considered in detail. Adaptations in the camel for living in arid regions include a tolerance to dehydration, a tolerance of hyperthermia, and a concentrated urine. Koplin pointed out the dangers in attempting analogies between the water metabolism of the camel and the desert sheep. He f'urther stated that it is not known if desert sheep could tolerate dehydration or hyperthermia nor was the extent of urine concentration known. At this time (1963) the physiology of the water metabolism of the Merino sheep is comparatively well known. Since they are closely related and live in similar environments there is some justification for attempting an analogy between the mechanism of water balance in the Merino sheep and those of the desert sheep. It Is believed that the Merino, a race of domestic sheep (0vis aries), is derived from the Moulflon (0vis musimon), (~raserxShort, 1959). The Merino, which appears to have originated in a hot, arid environment, has been stocked on ranches throughout the southwestern United States. It is noted for its ability to "shift for itself" on our western ranges and only recently after water development and other improvements have been made has it been largely replaced on many ranches by other breeds. The Merino has adjusted well to the arid inland plains of Australia and some eight mlllion are found north of the Tropic of Capricorn (Macfarlane, -et -*a1 3 19s). The Merino and desert sheep both belonging to the genus Ovis- live in hot, arid environments and may be considered ecological equivalents. Physiological adaptations which allow them to-survive in similar environments are probably comparable. During the last decade a great deal of work on the physiology of the Merino sheep has been conducted in Australia. Dukes (1955) has reviewed the temperature relationships of a number of domestic animals and concluded that sheep tolerate the higher environmental temperatures better than other animals studied. In many areas of Australia sheep are held in open pastures without shade. Temperature regulation by sheep subjected to summer temperatures as high as ll5OF is mainly by panting (~ee19s; Macfarlane, et al., 1958; Brook and Short, 1960a, 1960b). Brook and Short znfuded from their comparative study of sheep with and without sweat glands that, although swea=t&ng=dAd=occu~=in-the -Merino -sheep, - i-t-was- of- lesser------importance. They did point out that shorn sheep were more efficient at sweating. Riek, et al. (199) concluded that sheep on a moderately adequate diet Kssted in more efficient temperature regulation. Although shorn sheep sweat more efficiently, the insulating properties of wool in protecting against radiation is considered advantageous. Macfarlane, et al. (1958) stated that respiration.rates are twice as high in shorn sheep as unshorn sheep in the summer months and that the shearing of sheep living on the arid open plains adds to their heat load. Evaporative cooling by panting and sweating increases water demand and in the summer Merinos drink about 12 times as much as in the winter. Since large amounts of water are used during the summer in heat regulation, other possible physiological adaptations, such as tolerance to dehydration, are of interest. The Merino does not have a larger volume of body water than sheep living in more mesic regions (~udtz-~lsen,et a1 1961). Macfarlane, et al. (1959) found that the Merino can ~iikstanda water loss or3pof its body weight. Although not clearly understood they pointed out that an important factor in being able to withstand this extreme dehydration was the ability to maintain plasma volume. In a later paper (Macfarlane, et al., 1961) they concluded that a full rumen containing waterup70 13% body weight could provide much of the extracellular loss during dehydration. Over half of the water lost, however, would be from intracellular sources resulting in a decrease in plasma and an increase in hemoglobin and plasma proteins in the blood. However, the rugged cardiovascular system allows circulation to be maintained with viscous blood of reduced volume. They further stated that in the dry, hot summer the sheep can survive for 6 to 10 days-without water. Urine output fell sharply after 2 days without water. During the early stages up to 1.6 liters of water a day was passed. After the third day urine output-was below 300 milliliters per day and by the sixth to tenth day below 100 milliliters of thick muddy fluid. The urea concentration during dehydration rose to 3.2 osmoles. Other papers concerning the function of the kidney in sheep pointed out that urea excretion is by an active transport of urea in the region of the loop of Henle Schmidt-Nielsen, et g., 1958; McDonald and Macfarlane, 1958 f . The functional efficiency of the kidney is also borne out by studies which showed that Merinos can drink water with high concentration of sodium chloride (~eirce,195'7, 1959, 1960; Potter, 1961). This is advantageous in semi-arid regions where natural waters contain high concentrations of sodium chloride and also where saltbushes of the genus Atriplex which contain high concentrations of sodium chloride are important food sources. It can be seen that the Merino sheep compares favorably with the camel in the number of physiological adaptations for ------deser-t-living.--:Both have-a -thick-coat - for protect-ion--aga solar radiation, a concentrated urine, the ability to utilize saline water and foods, a tolerance to dehydration, and some degree of tolerance to hyperthermia. However, there is not as wide a diurnal range of temperature in the sheep as in the camel. In surmner the diurnal range is from 3.6 to 5. b°F compared to a range of 7 to ll°F in the camel (~chmidt-~ielsen,-et -*a1 1956b; Macfarlane, --et al. ,, 1958). Summary and Conclusions Desert mammals, on the basis of their water metabolism, may be classified into two basic groups: one group, consisting mainly of smaller mammals such as rodents, lagomorphs, and carnivores does not expend water for temperature regulation but survive in the desert even without drinking water by utilizing succulent foods, conserving water in urine formation, and avoiding heat stress by burrowing and nocturnal habits. Some members-of this group such as kangaroo rats and pocket mice can obtain their entire water needs from metabolic water and the small amount of free water in their dry foods. The second group, consisting of the larger desert ungulates, are unable to avoid conditions of heat stress and most expend some water in the regulation of temperature. More information is needed concerning the water requirements of these - animals. Although field observations indicate that some members of this group can do without drinking water indefinitely, studies on domestic animals do not confirm this. On the contrary, such studies indicate that during the hot, arid summer months when succulent foods are at a minimum, water must be taken in by drinking at least every 2 or 3 weeks. Two large domestic mammals, the camel and Merino sheep, show parallel physiological adaptations for an existence in the desert. These adaptations, which include tolerance to dehydration and hyperthemia, conservation of water in urine formation, and ability to take in salts in water and foods, should be looked for in wild desert ungulates. Since the Merino and the desert bighorn are in the same genus and live in similar environments they may be considered as' ecological equivalents. It appears that the number of physiological adaptations concerning water balance in mammalian - systems are limited and parallel adaptations for living In the desert may be found in the desert bighorn and Merino sheep. Cert-a-inlg %he research and fadMgs an mter metabolisn! M the Merino sheep can be used as a model and should stimulate similar research on the physiology of the desert bighorn. Studies of the-Merino sheep suggest that better utilization of desert bighorn range could be brought about by d --deve-lopment -of-more -watering- areas. - - These -watering-areas- should --- - = be located so as to be available to bighorns at least every 2 to 3 days during their normal movements. A general climatic shift towards increased dryness has occurred in the Southwest since the last pluvial and may well be responsible for a decline in bighorn sheep numbers. However, it is probable that the desert bighorn is better adapted to xeric conditions than has been previously suggested. With modern management techniques providing suitable watering areas, it is likely that a sizeable populatfon of these sheep may be indefinitely maintained in the Southwest. I Table I. Major features of the metabolism of selected mammals 1 I I I Minimum sum- Use of Conc. Tolerance I, Normal Behavior in Major adaptations Species mer water water in of to i temperature relation to for water References requirements temperature urea dehydration range heat stress conservat ion I /I Kangaroo rat Metabolic -None, 22.8% -Low, death f Moderate Avoidance Avoidance of heat Schmidt- . (Dipodomys water plus salivation before body hyperthemia by burrow- stress and extreme Nielsens merriaml'f free water as emergen- water is 97-104OF ing and conservation of et al. (1952) in dry foods cy measure much reducedI nocturnal water 1 habits Antelope Met abo 1ic None, 17.0% -High, at Hyperthemia Diurnal, Tolerance to de- Dawson (1948); ground- water plus salivation least 25% : 99-110'~ avoidance hydration and Bartholomew & squirrel succulent as emergen- of body , by use of hyperthermia, Hudson (1959), (Citellus foods cy measure weight I burrows concent rated (1961) leucurus) I and shade urine, avoids I I heat stress, and I succulent foods Pack rat Metabolic -None, 11 .O% -Low, death Unknown Avoidance Avoidance of heat Schmidt- (Neotoma spp. ) water plus salivation in 4-9 days by burrow- stress and use of Nielsens highly as emergen- on diet of ing and highly succulent et al. (1948a) succulent cy measure? dry food nocturnal foods habits Schmidt - Nielsens In captivity et al. (1948a) cy measure

mia Diurnal, Tolerance to de- Schmidt- (Camelus high heat hydration and Nielsens dromedarius) stress hyperthermia and et al. (1956) concentrated urine Diurnal, Tolerance to de- Macfarlane ia high heat . hydration and et al. (1961) by panting, weight 11 101-106°~ stress hyperthermia and 1/3 by sweat- concentrated urine in^" . I Man Water with High- water 6.0% Low, up to/' 98-100UF Diurnal , Permanent water Adolph (1947) (Homo meals and loss bv 12% bodv highheat su~~lvAA " and - 1 - Sapiens) during per- sweating weight - stress modification of iods of rest I, microenvironment j/ Literature Cited Adolph, E. F., (ed. ) . 1947. Physiology of man in the desert. Interscience, New York. 357 p. Andrews, R. C. 1926. On the trail of ancient man. Putnam, New York and London. 375 p. Bailey, V. 1923. Sources of water supply for desert animals. Sci. Monthly 17:66-86. Bartholomew, G. A., and J. W. Hudson. 1959. Effects of sodium chloride on weight and drinking in the antelope ground squirrel. J. Mamm. 40: 354-360. Bartholomew, G. A., and J. W. Hudson. 1961. Desert ground squirrels. Sci. American, November, p. 107-116. Bodenheimer, F. S. 1957. The ecology of mammals in arid zones, p. 100-137. -In Human and animal ecology, UNESCO. Brook, A. H., and B. F. Short. 1960a. Regulation of body temperature- of sheep in a hot environment. Australian J . Agr . nesearcn 11: 402-407. Brook, A. H., and B. F. Short. 1960b. Sweating in sheep. Australian J . Agr . Research 11: 557 -569.

Budtz-Olsen, 0. E., J. D. Cleeve, and B. A. Oelrichs. 1961. Total body water in Merino and Rommney Marsh sheep estimated by alcoholic (ethanol) dilution. Australian J. Agr. Research 12681-688. Buxton, P. A. ,1923. Animal life in deserts. Arnold, London. 176 P- Carmthers, D. 1935. Arabian adventure. Witherby, London. 208 p. Chew, fa. M. 1955. The skin and respiratory water losses of Peromyscus maniculatus sonoriensis. Ecology 36:463-467. Chew, R. M. 1961. Water metabolism of desert-inhabiting vertebrates. Biol. Rev. 36: 1-31. Dawson, W. R. 1953. The relation of oxygen cornsumption to temperature in desert rodents. J. Mamm. 36:543-553. Dill, D. B. 1938. Life, heat and altitude: physiological effects of hot climates and great heights. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass. 211 p. Dowling, D. F. 1958. The significance of sweating in heat tolerance of cattle. Australian J. Agr. Research 9: 5'79-586. Dukes, H. H. 1955. The physiology of domestic animals. Cornstock, Ithac, N. Y. 1020 p. Fraser, A. S., and B. F. Short. 1960. The biology of the fleece. AnWl Research Laboratories Tech. Paper No. 3, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia, p. 5-81. Graves, B. D. 1961. Waterhole observations of bighorn sheep. Trans. Desert Bighorn Council, April 4-7, p. 27-29. Hawbecker, A. C. 1947. Food and moisture requirements of the Nelson antelope ground squirrel. J. Mamm. 28:115-125. Hawbecker, A. C. 1953. Eslvironrnent of the Nelson antelope ground squirrel. J. Mamm. 34:324-334. Hawbecker, A. C. 1958. Survival and home range in the Nelson antelope ground squirrel. J . Mamm. 39: 307 -215. Howell, A. B., and I. Gersh. 1935. Conservation of water in the rodent Dipodomys. J. Mam. 16:l-9. Koplin, J. R. 1960. New developments on water requirements on the Desert Game Range. Trans. Desert Bighorn Council, April 5-8, p. 54-57. Lee, A. K., and R. E. MacMillan. 1959. Utilization of vegetation as a water source by coastal and inland populations of the desert woodrat. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Arner. 40: 48. Lee, D. H. K., and R. W. Phillips. 1948. Assessment of the adaptability of livestock to climatic stress. J. Animal Sci. 7:391. Lee, D. H. K. 1950. Studies of heat regulation in the sheep, with special reference to the Merino. Australian J. Agr. Research, 1: 200-216. Lindeborg, R. G. 1952. Water requirements of certain rodents from xeric and mesic habitats. Contr. Lab. Vertebrate Biol., Univ. Michigan 58: 1-32. Marais, E. N. 1914. Notes on some effects of extreme drought in Waterberg, South Africa. Rept. Smithsonian Inst. for 1914, pa 511-522. Macfarlane, W. V., R. J. H. Morris, and B. Howard. 19%. Heat and water in tropical Merino sheep. Australian J. Agr . Research 9:217 -228. Macfarlane, W. V., R. J. H. Morris, B. Howard, and 0. E. Budtz- Olsen. 1959. Extracellular fluid distribution in tropical Merino sheep. Australian J. Agr. Research 10: 267 -286. Macfarlane, W. V., R. J. H. Morris, B. Howard, J. McDonald, and 0. E. Budtz-Olsen. 1961. Water and electrolyte changes in tropical Merino sheep exposed to dehydration during summer. Australian J. Agr. Research 12:889-912. McDonald, J., ahd W. V. Macfarlane. 19%. Renal function of sheep in hot environments. Australian J. Agr. Research

Monson, G. 1958. Water requirements. Trans. Desert Bighorn Council, April 8-11, p. 64-66. Nay, T. 19s. Sweat glands in cattle: histology, morphology, and evolutionary trends. Australian J. Agr. Research 10: 121-128. Peirce, A. W. 193. Studies on salt tolerance of sheep I. The tolerance of sheep for sodium chloride in the drinking ------=~a-ter-7-Austra-lian J.--Agr. -Research 8:711-7-22, = Peirce, A. W. 1959. Studies on salt tolerance.of sheep 11. The tolerance of sheep for mixtmes of sodium chloride and magnesium chloride in the drinking water. Australian J. Agr. Research 10:725-735. Peirce, A. W. 1960. Studies on salt tolerance of sheep 111. The tolerance of sheep for mixtures of sodium chloride and sodium sulphate in drinking water. Australian J. Agr. Research 11: 548-556. Potter, B. J. 1961. The renal response of sheep to prolonged - ingestion of sodium chlorid;. ~ustraliahJ. Agr. ~esearch 12: 440-445. Riek, R. F., M. H. Hardy, P. H. K. Lee, and H. B. Carter. 199. The effect of the dietary plane upon the reactions of two breeds of sheep during short exposures to hot environments. Australian J. Agr. Research 1:217-230. Schmidt -Nielsen, B., K. Schmidt -Nielsen, A. Brokaw, and H. Schneiderman. 1948a. Water conservation in desert rodents. J. Cell. and Comp. Physiol. 32: 331 -360. -Nielsen, K., B. Schmidt -Nielsen, and A. Brokaw. l948b. Urea excretion in desert rodents exposed to high protein diets. J. Cell. and Comp. Physiol. 32~361-380. schmidt-Nielsen, K., B. Schmidt -Nielsen, and H. Schneideman. 1948~. Salt excretion in desert mammals. Am. J. Phsiol. 154: 163-166. schmidt -Nielsen, K., and B. Schmidt -Nielsen. 1949. The water economy of desert animals. Sci. Monthly 69: 180-185. schmidt-Nielsen, B., and Ko Schmidt -Nielsen. l99a.' Do .. kangaroo rats thrive when drinking sea water. Am. J.

. physiol. 160: 291-294. . . Schmidt -Nielsen, B. , and K. Schmidt -Nielsen. l99b. Pulmonary water loss in desert rodents. Am. J. Physiol. 162:31-36. Schmidt-Nielsen, B., and K. Schmidt-Nielsen. 199~.Etraporative water loss in desert rodents in their natural habitat. Ecology 31:7 5-85. Schmidt-Nielsen, B., and K. Schmidt-Nielaen. 193. A complete account of the water metabolism in kangaroo rats and an experimental verification. J. Cell. and Comp. Physiol. 38: 165-181. Schmidt-Nielsen, K., and B. Schmidt-Nielsen. 1952. Water

Schmidt -Nielsen, K., and B. Schmidt -Nielsen. 1953. The desert rat. Sci. American, July, p. 73-78. Schmidt -Nielsen, B. 1954. Water conservation in small desert rodents, p. 173-181. In J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson, (ed. ), Biology of deserts. Institute of Biology, London. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. 1954. Heat regulation in small and large desert mammals, p. 182-192. In J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson, (ed. ), Biology of deserts. I%titute of Biology, London. Schmidt-Nielsen, B. 1955. Urea excretion in white rats and kangaroo rats as influenced by excitement and by diet. Am. 3. Physiol. 181:131 -139. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. 1956. Animals and arid conditions: physiological aspects of productivity and management, p. 368-382. In G. I?. White, (ed. ), The future of arid lands. Am. AGOC.Advancement Sci., Publ. No. 43. Schmidt-Nielsen, B., K. Schmidt-Nielsen, T. R. Houpt, and S. A. Jarnum. 1956. Water balance of the camel. Am. J. Physiol. 185: 185-194. Schmidt-Nielsen, B., H. Osaki, H. V. Murdaugh, Jr., and R. OtDell. 1958. Renal regulation of urea excretion in sheep. Am. J. ~hysiol.194: 221-228. Schmidt-Nielsen, K. 1959. The hysiology of the camel. Sci. American, December, p. 1i 0 -151. Stephen, F. 1906. California mammals. San Diego, Calif. 33p. Sumner, F. B. 1925. Some biological problems of our southwestern deserts. Ecology 6: 352-371.

Vorhies, C. T., and W. P. Taylor. 1940. Life history and . ecology of the white throated wood rat, Neotoma albigula albigula Hartley, in relation to grazingmzona. Univ. Arizona Tech. Bull. No. 86. Vorhies, C. T. 1945. Water requirements of desert animals in -. the southwest. Univ. Arizona Tech. Bull. No. 107. Wells, R. E., and F. B. Wells. 1961. The bighorn of Death Valley. Fauna of the National Parks of the United States, Fauna Ser. No. 6. BRADLEY - (Discuss ion ) \ adle ley - Are we justified in saying that there is some parallelisi between the sheep and the camel and if so can we use the information gained from the camel to apply to desert bighorn sheep and is this information appli- - cable to management?

~raf- Certainly, you are justified in saying there is some parallelism, since they are living in similar ecological niches and you are justified as far as applying this to the management of the bighorn. Let's say, assuming the sheep can go 6 to 8 days withoug water but this is the extreme. So lets use this as the extreme and try to give the sheep the best conditions posiible to increase and not make them exist in the extreme conditions.

Bradley - I have in the conclusions recommended that water should be made availabae to them every 2 to 3 days during their normal movements. But at the last minute after looking over this group and realizing all the vast experience here I was reluctant to make that statement.

Welles - I don't think you should hesitate to make a management suggestion here. It would certainly be a mistake to limit then (sheep) to a range without water and expect them to survive.

- Question (Park Service) - You draw analogies between sheep and camels. Has anyme done this between differelit races ef sheep frtm azras likk che Toyabe Mountains and the Colorado in respect io water metabolism?

Bradley - Isve looked into this in the literature and one of the generalizations that can be made in both animals and plants is that if they have plenty - of water they are wasteful of it but in many cases when it is withdrawn heycn-c------. ------ertainly get along withoiiCit;--I- beliE-tliat-thegGGs-~iis has a large range of tolerance to such factors as temperature, both cold and heat, water, etc. If these forms find themselves in a situation that is extreme they can of ten adjust to it.

Hernandez Corzo - Is there any use of metabol water in the sheep, especially from fats?

Bradley - Let me refer to Schmidt Nielsen on this. He says that metabolic water is being formed by every organism there is. The problem is that for most animals this source isn't enough to meet the water requirements. Hernandez Corzo - But you could determine this by using radioactive material and so forth, even in proteins, too, perhaps? Bradley - Oh, yes: There is metabolic water in proteins, it isn't as high as in fats, though.

Hernandez Corzo - Yes, but it still is not high enough to supply the requirements.

Goodman - You mentioned that there may be other mechanisms that allow sheep to go for periods without water. It has been suggested (source unknown) that comparable to Allen's Rule particularly in regards to horns, the large horns may be for cooling and how about defication for the removal of body head? Bradley - On defecation first, I have a feeling that the water loss in defecatiQq would be more drastic than the possible ellmination of heat. As far as - Allen'e Rule, I simply don't know of anything in the literature about the loss of heat from the horns.

Hansen - In our penned sheep in the summer when the humidity has raised quite high and rapidly, the horns of the sheep have become quite wet and these then will dry out in a few days, as the humidity goes down. To me it indicated a certain amount of moisture was going into the horn sheath and apparently evaporation was taking place. EXOTICS AND THEIR IMPLICATION

William Graf Department of Biology San Jose State College San Jose, California -

Exotics fall into two categories in this country - the desirable , ones and the undesirable ones. The classification depends largely on whether you are for or against the exotic. If you are for the exotic, it becomes the finest animal imaginable and is the solution to all wildlife management problems. If you are against it, it takes on the characteristics of a villain, complete with horns and pitchfork.

In truth, neither point of view is-correct. Rarely does an exotic solve all problems, Actualty,exotics have definite limitations and are nn m,~n,I I a.nAaw =!! ~andE$Fonssfid under a!! situ=-!-i=nsi Sms exGj-ic= I." -u, C. " I . U.."". do fulfill a useful role and provide a solution to a problem under some conditions, and while limited in their usefulness, the exotic is not necessarily. the archvillain that he is so often painted. Curiously, the basis for considering the exotic in these two lights ------Stas-f rm--ne and -the samtKs6urce and--i s based on tbe- same-mnceDt theory. It is one of those cur iaus situations where a Yheory" &tn be used to achieve two completely apposite conclusions.

This basic concept or theory is briefly this: Exotics have suoerior powers of com~etitionand survival over a native and will therefore crowd out the native in his own environment,

' This is a most versatile concept; if you need a rgplacemenl- for a depleted area, the exotic cannot be disputed as the solution to the problem. On the other hand, if a native is declining where an exotic is present, then there is the perfect answer to the problem; obviously the exotic is the cause of the decline of the native species.

So commonplace is the belief in the superiority and invincibility of the exotic that this is now widely quoted without reference or source as one of those truths that no one questions, Few books today dealing with the natural history, distribution or ecology of.our native animals fail to mention this "principle".

Where did this belief have its origin and how true is it? The author appears to-be no less than the eminent botanist of the past century, Sir Joseph 0. Hooker. Hooker was the assistant surgeon and the botanist attached to the ship H.M. ''Erebus" on the Ross expedition to the antareid in 183943. This be1 ief in the superiority of exotics is quite thoroUghl# discussed by Thomson (1922) and anyone interested in this subject should 4 read Chapters 13 and 14 of this excel lent book. In his account of the Tasmanian flora, Hooker (1860) states, "When I take a comprehensive view of the vegetation of the Old World, I am struck with the appearance it presents of there being a continuous current of vegetation (if I may so fancifully express myself) frm Scandinavia to Tasmania; Along, in short, the whole extent of that arc of the terrestrial sphere which presents the greatest continuity of land. In the first place, Scandinavian genera, and even species reappear everywhere from Lapland and Iceland to the tops of the Tasmanian alps, in rapidly diminishing numbers it is true, but in vigorous development throughout. They abound on the Alps and the Pyrenees. pass on to the Caucasus and Himalayas, thence they extend along the ~hasia. hountains, and those of the peninsulas of l ndia and those of ceylon and the May layan archi pelago (Java and Borneo), and after a hiatus of xO, they appear on the alps of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, and beyond these again on those of New Zealand and the Antarctic Islands, many of the species remain unchanged throughout: It matters not what the vegetation of the bases and flanks of these mountains may be; the northern species my be associated with a!plne forms of Gernanici Siberian, Orients!, Chinese, American, Maylayan, and finally Australian and Antarctic types; but whereas these are all, more or less, local assemblages, the Scandinavian asserts his pi-erogat ive of ubiquity from Britain to beyond its ant ipodes.I1

Here we have the 'lsuperiority" of the Scandinavian or northern flora ------advanced.=Darwi-n=apparentI-y--was-quick to-seize upon this-theory-and of------all places to express this, ironically enough, chose to put this into words in his "Or i gin of Species" ( 1875) where he states: "From the extraordinary manner i n whi ch European product ions have recent l y spread over New Zealand, and have seized on places which must have been previously occupied, we may believe, if all the animals and plants of Great Britain were set free in New Zealand, that in the course of time a multitude of British forms would become thoroughly naturalized there, and would exterminate many of the natives. On the other hand, from what we see now ' occurring in New Zealand, and from hardly a single inhabitant of the southern hemisphere having become wild in any part of Europe, we may doubt, if all the productions of New Zealand were set free in Great Britain, whether any considerable number would be enabled to seize on places now occup ied by our nat i ve p ianis and an ima l s. "

A. R. Wallace, the eminent zoogeographer of his time, was quick to follow and in "Island Life" (1880) stated the following: "The first important fact bearing upon this question is the wonderful aggressive and colonizing power of the Scandinavian flora, as shown by the way in which it establishes itself in any temperate country to which it may gain access. About 150 species have thus established themselves in New Zealand, often taking possession of large tracts of country; about the same number are found in Australia, and nearly as many in the Atlantic States of America, where they form the commonest weeds. Whether or not we accept Mr. Darwin's explanation of this power as due to development in the most extensive land area of the globe where competition has been most severe and long-continued, the fact of the existence of this power reamins, and we can see how important an agent it must be in the formation of the floras of all lands tc wnich these aggressive plants have been able to gain access.11

There we have it - the su~erioritvof northern forms, animals and glants, over southern hemisphere forms. Although only Scandinavian or northern forms are classed as superior, it is no great step to extend this power td all exotics and I have no doubt that this is the origin

of our present generally a'ccepted concept of the "superiority of exoticsf' theory with its implications of "uncontrollability and domination and destruction of natives" that is so commonly expressed and accepted.

Let us examine the problem a bit more realistically. First of all, a rather simple and basic principle is involved here. This principle is this:

I. All plants and animals are the product of their environment through evolution.-

2. Every species, therefore, has special adaptations to fit its particular' environment, and species developed elsewhere will not have the same exad adaptat ions or envi ronmenta I character i sti cs.

------I=* -foI lows;--the~efot=e,-that-th is -bei ng the -mse, aI I-plant- animals are better adapted to their nafive environment which produced them than would be an exotic from some other evolutionary source. Ironically, it was Darwin who laid down these very principles in the very same book- in wh'i ch he acciaimed the super ior ity of the I1exoti cv. The important thing is not ihat a great man is not i nfa l I ib le, but that when three of the greatest biologists of their time fall into the same error, the rest of the world is apt to follow in their footsteps and will perpetuate that error, as it has been for the past hundred or more years, to a point where it becomes an unquestioned fact.

The American philosophy-with regard fo exotics is a schizophrenic one, based upon this comnon fallacy. This has led to some serious implications and practices.

I, On the one hand, we have used the exotic as a cure-a1 l and a sort of b iologi cal "get-rich -qu i ck" scheme, or. as a sort of nationwide sportsman's tranquilizer from which many are gradually waking up with a serious headache and empty pockets.

Today, after a few heady successes, and in spite of decades of countless failures, we sem to be introducing exotics, especially game birds, in some areas with the frantic and grim determination of a confirmed gambling addict on'a slot machine binge, trying to hit the jackpot wh i l e a perfectly good, sound business is going bankrupt.

2. On the other hand, there are others who spend their energies and time belaboring the exotic and blaming him for all the i l Is that have been visited upon this land.

In both cases, serious implications follow. Such an attitude leads ta the neglect of our own superior animals to a point where the opportunity to do sanething for them is lost forever. Not only that, but in the process the basic cause of the decline is lost and this may lead to additional losses of basic resources. Further, the "hate all exotics" contingent, by losing sight of their true objective, will neglect the very thing they seek to preserve.

The end result is that very little is gained in all but a very few cases by either the pro- or anti- exotics factions, and in almost all cases everyone loses at least financially if not biologically.

The few cases where benefits are derived could just as well be deferred until all hope for the native is gone, or by carefully applying the basic biological principles of ecology, genetics and evolution to the introductions being made.

Under no condition do-l consider it justified to introduce exotics into areas where natives are still present.

- _ -- Leas-Lof=---. a l l&-- do - I------cons i- der it _desi rab l e _or _good judgm""f0 i ntro------duce migratory or wide -rangi ng species whose probable success is most- - unlikely, and for obvious reasons.

Complete I y i I log i ca l and contrary to a l I evolutionary and genet ic principles is the practice of trying to introduce a hybrid into wild habitat. Such a product is by the very nature of its evolution a strictly artificial product, and thereby unfit to survive in a wild env ironment . It all leads me to one simple conclusion, and that is that our wildlife biologists of the future must be better grounded in the basic principles of genetics, ecology, evolution and zoogeography.

What is the effecfof all this on game management in general and the Desert Bighorn specifically? The significance,is most profound from the standpoint of correcting first the fallacy and then using our knowledge to determine the significance of the APPARENT SUPERIORITY of the exotic and the vulnerabi l ity of the native. If an exotic wi l l survive where a native cannot, or if an exotic is displacing an existing native, we can draw only one conclusion. This conclusion is that the once favorable habitat of the native, that habrtat which evolved and maintained it, has changed, or is changing. If it will harbor an exotic then it must be taking on an aspect which happens to fit the exotic. Certainly the su itabi ity of habitat for the exotic is not determined by design - the exotic just happens by chance to fit into the changing conditions. Our establishment of exotics in the past certainly bears this out - the list of failures far exceeds the successes, and it will continue to be so in the future.

Should we find a native declining or vanishing with or without the presence of an exotic competitor we shou Id first of a l l ask oursel ves, fmis this s~eciesdeclininq?" The solution to the problems should not be to reach for the panacea, the %xotidt as a remedy, for this is apt to be costly and, in the long run, no solution to the problem. As in the case of the treatment of a disease, it is the basic cause that should be treated, not the symptom, or in our case the declining numbers of our species by bolstering these with exotic additions. By treating the problear from the standpoint of the cause, we will not only probably correct the problem but in all probability save the native species. If we treat the symptom, we may temporarily solve the problem but, in the long run, the same basic cause may destroy both the habitat and the exotic with it. For it is usually the change in habitat (environment) which threatens the existence of a species.

~~ain,if an exotic is 'krowdingWout a native we shou Id not attribute this to superiority of the exotic, but should seek out the reason why e native cannot Survive in a habitat in which it was produced and where it should be superior to any invader. In short, the exotic can be our warning barometer to chang i ng envi ronmenta l conditions. With this clearly in mind, we should then make every effort to rectify the factors that are destroying or changing the habitat of our native forms and try in-tain-and-re-establish-the conditions that will-permit-a-superi- form to maintain itself.

The introduction of an exotic should be a last-ditch resort under conditions that obviously cannot be changed and under which a native cannot and will not maintain itself. This is the case of our agricultural lands on which the various forms of native small and big game have been displaced, and where such exotics as the pheasant and Hungarian partridges have become established.

I cannot consider this the solution for our wilderness species. Here we must correct and remedy the cause of the decline of such as that of our Desert Bighorn sheep. I am confident that on many areas the bighorn could be brought back in numbers just as great as any exotic that we may now introduce and that any exotic now introduced would fare no better than does the native.

All too often the exotic is merely a poliiically expedient solution to the problem, simply because it makes the most spectacular gesture for the public in the press. In the end it not only solves nothing, but spends a great deal of money that could be better used for the correction of the native's problems. Of course, the correction of land uses and abuses which often lie at the base of the changing environment which causes the decline of our natives is not a pleasant problem to face, and unfortunately few people, and particularly administrators with a pol ;tical tenure, will face such problems realistically.

First of al I, if an exotic is introduced in the face of land abuses, it will merely add to the problem of our native by placing the additional burden of competition on an already overburdened native fighting for survival. Secondly, there is an ever-increasing ,awareness among the land- owning public that it does not have to put up with game on its land, all legal ownership designation of game to the contrary notwithstanding. In other words, in spite of the fact that the law says the game belongs to the pub1 ic, the law also recognizes the fact that the land belongs to the owner and that his land use comes first, and that if there is a conflict between land use and the game, then the game will have to go. Whether we like it or not, this has been upheld in courts too often to bearguedm It would, therefore, be even more difficult tomaintain on private land animals which are not even native to the area. In fact, the introduction of an exotic big game species where it might encroach upon private land could lead to lawsuits and damage claims against the state.

On the other hand, 1 cannot find grounds to uphold those who claim that exotics have extraordinary powers of survival and dispersion that makes it impossible to control them once they have become established. That exotics have done, and can do, a great deal of damage under certain conditions is all too true. Exotics in which man has'no interest or which have lost their economic value to man and are therefore neglected after being established, can become overabundant. However, this can

d=qmstrated for -nat i ves under the same c i rcumstances. - -Ex& ks _ _ _- --- on small islands without any natural controls will, of course, multiply to a point where they can and will eat themselves out of house and home. However, a similar are. fenced and containing nothing but natives on a mainland area would end up precisely the same way. The Kai bab Forest is a good case in point on a not-so-smal l scal'e-and without benefit of fences.

The uncontrollability of the New Zealand deer population so often . quoted is simply not true, and is another example of a misconception or fallacy repeated without benefit of source or fact. I personally found New Zealand deer under control in all areas where any real control was being applied, or in force. In all settled areas the deer were either gone or at a very low population level. The inevitable -303 British is just as persuasive as our 3/34) that reduced the deer populations in the United States during'the past decades around the turn of the century. In New Zealand areas where professional deer "cullers" were supposed to be trying to stem the tide of the hordes of deer supposedly overrunning the forests, I found that these cullers, by their own statements to me, were shooting only areas where they could kill at least 18 to 20 deer per week - the point of diminishing returns from their own economic standpoint. When the minimum figure of 18 was reached they moved to more profitable areas and left the 16 or 17 deer that they could have killed per week to breed up the stock for future years. This was the best demonstration of sustained-yield management that 1 have ever had demonstrated to me. Culling blocks ran from 75 to lOW square miles in area per two hunters, and the general public was not allowed to shoot on these blocks, for obvious reasons. Riney (unpublished manuscript) found that on heavily hunted areas the fawn survival was 40% compared to 10% on unhunted wi l der- ness areas. Aside from the red deer (Cervus ela~hus)which is widespread in New Zealand, I found that the other species (7) of deer were highly localized and showed very little if any spread outside of the general areas where they were released 70 to 80 years ago.

As a final argument, the opponents of exotics always hold up the carp as the examole of exotic superiority. That this exotic has established itself in many of our waters cannot be denied. Neither can it be denied that in many of these same waters the native species have declined and the carp has prospered. The question that needsto be asked here is this: Is the establishment and domination of the carp and the decline of the native fishes due to any superiority over natives under the native environmental conditions, or is it due to superiority under conditions unfavorable to the native? Can it be factually stated that those waters in which the carp has taken over have not been altered by man so that they are no longer the waters in which our native fishes evolved and prospered3 Would the ca'rp have been able to establish itself in dominant numbers under original native habitat? While there are exceptions to all rules, sportsmen and wildlife biologists are often all too quick to use the exotic as an easy way out of a problem and as the scapegoat for man's own stupidity and failings.

n-someone tel-ls -me -that i-t is imposs i ble to extermi nate,-or--even - -- to control an exotic once it has been introduced, I am a bit skeptical. I have been told that the Barbary sheep is getting out of hand in New Mexico and that it cannot be controlled. Whether this is true I cannot say, certainly I have no quarrel with New Mexico or the Barbary sheep. I find that during the past three years one 10-day season with a maximum number of 284 hunters afield, and two 9-day seasons with 54 and 377 hunters afield respectively, have been held. During these 3 seasons, a total of 160 animals were taken. Certainly a reduction of numbers was achieved. But to speak here of an extermination, or even a control, is to me ridiculous. Only when all seasons and all bag limits are removed, can we speak of "extermination" intent. Nor can one limit the hunting to a few professional bounty hunters as in Neu Zealand. The Barbary sheep . released on *he Hearst Ranch in Cal i fornia has maintained itself on1 y on a relatively small area around the headquarters of the ranch. It has not spread and established itself outside of the ranch, although the opportunity exists. One does hear rumors of deer hunters shooting ltstrange looking goats" outside of the ranch.

So far as our Desert Bighorn goes, I feel most strongly that it is a mistake to replace it with exotics before we make an honest attempt to re-establish it on former ranges. Some of thase ranges need rehabilitation, sane need only the re-introduction of the bighorn. It would be no more difficult, and far less expensive, to obtain native bighorn for establishment than to buy expensive exotics. There would be less resistance to the re-introduction of natives?frorn landowners nearby,than to the introduction of strange livestock with perhaps unpredictable consequences. Nevada particularly has many ranges where this could be done--perhaps the best areas fot such an undertaking. Many of these already have nuclei of sheep on them and need only the rehabilitation of range and the protection needed. Certainly the Barbary sheep has demonstrated no superior qualities for sustaining a big game hunting pressure, as indicated by past figures. Nor have the California herds demonstrated any superior survival powers under poaching pressure. These animals reportedly considered for introduction for Nevada would provide nothing that the bighorn could.not duplicate and exceed in qua1 ity, adaptabi l ity, and productivity.

Oregon has demonstrated this quite conclusively, and with the lessons learned there this could probably be improved upon in Nevada. There is nothing to indicate that the Barbary, or the ibex for that miter, in Africa are having any better luck surviving in the eroded and over- grazed and dried out hills of their native land than our Desert Bighorn in similar areas in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Nor will these species improve upon the bighorn in similar areas. In areas of better ecoiogical conditions the bighorn woujd do as weii or better and deserves by all basic laws and logic the first chance.

In sumnation, our policy with regard to exotics should be this:

-- --I.-- - No exotic should ever be introduced where a sti l l present.

2. No exotic should ever be introduced into an area formerly occupied by a native spec ies when that native is still available from other ranges for restocking and re-establ ishment.

3. No exotic should be considered unless there is a real need for it, determined by a thorough investigation by competent biologists.

4. NO exotic should be introduced without first making a thorough investigation of the ecoloqv and economy of the exotic both in its old and new home.

5. No exotic introduction plan should be considered for approval before a proper site for introduction is available.

6. ~igratoryor wide-ranging exotics should not be introduced because of the high probability of failure and because of the possibility of ending up in areas where they are not wanted.

7. Hybrid exotics, because of their very artificial origin, should not be considered as potential introductions. Such a product, originating in an artificial environment, cannot be expected to succeed in a wild env i ronrnent. 8. If a native species is declining, the first step should be to determi ne the reason -for -the decline, before any exotic is even considered as a replacement.

9. If the cause of the decline can be determined, determine if this cause can be corrected.

10. If the cause can be corrected or halted, then every effort should be made to rehabilitate or re-establish the native species.

II. If the change in conditions is such that no correction or halt can be made, then a replacement with a proper exotic should be considered. This replacement should fit into the wildlife pattern of the area.

12. If an exotic is spreading beyond the area of intended range, all controls outside of the area should be removed so that it can be removed as quickly as it appears in new areas where it is not wanted.

References Cited:

Darwin, Charles, 1875. The Origin of Species, 6th Edition, London.

Hooker, Joseph Dalton, 1860. The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of ------HiMI -D ix&VFry-S tips- Erebus and-Terror--i n-Fh e-y& rs- 183.9 - 1 843. Part Ill Flora Tasmniae, Vole I, p. Ciii. Covent Garden, London.

Thomson, G. Map 1922. The Naturalization of Animals and Plants in New Zealand, Cambridge University Press, London.

Wal lace, A. R.) 1902. Island Life, 3rd Edition, Madi I Ian and Co, -GRAF - (Discussion) Dale - We wouldn't have a lot of our problems today if the Indians had had more strict immigration laws. I think we are on dangerous ground to assume that native species have the advantage over the exotics and can hold out against them. Perhaps conditions have changed and certainly other exotics like rabbits and starlings have adapted in the areas of many natives. Maybe the barbary sheep in New Mexico is better adapted to the conditions that exist there than the bighorn?

Graf - We just hate to give up a real good theory! I think that if you look into this some more you might find that there is something to these generalizations and basic principles that I have laid down. I'll tell you what I found about the New Zealand rabbits, the same rabbit as found in Australia, where the same problem exists. When they took the sheep off an area and premitted the range to come back to its native condition the rabbits would decline almost to the disappearing point. This was worked out by Dr. Howard of Davis (California). He was over there just before I went to New Zealand. I found this to be true where the range was in its native condition, the rabbit was no problem. But I do agree with you, we don't know whether the barbary or some other exotic is suited to changing conditions but we also don't know that it is and we are just guessing. - - we actuaiiy have no grounds but if we knew W'ME you said than ir: would be better because of the changed conditions. I'd say fine, we have no choice. We've got to do it. But we don' t know this. IJe do know this one thing that basically the native, as the result of its evolutionary progress is bound to be better suited to it. What the degree of ch ------a- -- know that an the native.

Dale - I didn't want to give you the impression that I thought that the barbary ought to be introduced.

Graf - No, No! I didn't get that impression. Dale - The thing that makes me a little more afraid of the barbary is that perhaps the native bighorn can't hold its own today against the barbary.

Graf - Well you are adding a burden if you introduce the barbary on bighorn sheep. Everything else being equa& or even if the bighorn is a little better off there and better adapted, as long as the barbary survives, it just adds one more mouth for every one produced there. In competition it is indisputable whether barbary sheep, Merino or cattle or anything is better suited. You are piling just one mdre load on that "camel's back" figuratively speaking and that \ is why I say that until we know and we are all admitting that we don't know or else we wouldn't all be here. We know yet too little about this animal (bighorn sheep) and its still here and this is where it did develop and the barbary did develop a long ways from here. Actual- ly the barbary is existing on very precarious ground in its native habitat. Its in as bad shape in Africa as our bighorn is as far as I can learn. And for much the same reasons too. 6 night - I'd just like to add a comment from Australia on the exotic situation. The New Zealand rabbits were not competing with native animals because none were around, whereas they were in Australia and were competing with the great variety of native marsupials that eat more or less the same sort of things, and yet by the 1880's the rabbit was thoroughly established over much of Australia as a pest. As something that could out compete any of the smaller native marsupials. Here is a good example of an exotic being brought in and outdoing the natives on its own grounds.

Graf -- I'd like to see that demonstrated under controlled conditions. There are too many variables there as long as you've got man with his sticky. thumb messing around in the whole business, to put the blame on any one animal. I'm not defending the rabbits. I do know this, that its the same rabbit that is in both New Zealand and Australia and in New Zealand without any other control but putting a fence around an area and taking the sheep off, you can get rid of it. It's been demonstrated under controlled conditions. I don't know if this has been demonstrated in Australia so it may be that you are right. Up to now all I know is that this is a very popular assumption and I was taught this when I was a student but~beforeIfm convinced I'd want to see some controlled checks. I'm willing to be shown.

Deacon - In general I agree with you and your generalization but I take exception (to some of Graf's comments) you seem to feel that the native is better adapted than any exotic. But from my viewpoint where you are missing the boat is in the broad sweeping generalization. It is my contentinn that a generalized kind of animal like i-s-b et-t-er-a-dap-t-ed--b-ec-a-Gse--'be--is-- ge*era-l izFddttiri =s-= species which evolved to a specific environment in any one place. Therefore, the carp has been able to take over in many places in this country in streams that have not been altered except by the introduction of carp.

Graf- Are you sure that the conditinns you speak of have not been altered. Show me a stream today in most of .the country that has not been altered. It's a tough one to argue. The carp, like the rabbit is another example of the thinking I was discussing. It's used as a classical example, like the rabbit of Australia but 1'm not saying that the carp might not crowd out some native somewhere. This is bound,to happen but generally speaking a native has to be better,. everything being equal and everything being unchanged, is going to be the superior to any exotic because that is where it has developed its characteristics. It had to or it wouldn't become a native.

Deacon - I'm familiar with the midwestern streams in which the carp has become established and apparently there has been very little human interference. I'm not saying the carp has done a great deal of damage but ithhas become established there. There are other examples of fisheries and I think there is room for argument, here. A BIO ASSAY AT NEVADA TEST SITE

Edmund L. Fountain Hajor, Veterinary Corps United States Army Assigned as Veterinarian Nevada Operat ions Off ice Atomic Energy C-iss ion

: For the past two years I have talked to this group about fallout from the testing of nuclear devices and the transfer of it to the biosphere. Today I shall discuss an investigative program at NTS that is supervised by me and is designed to answer some of the questions we have been concerned with regarding radioactive fallout.

In October of 1957 thirty-five head of grade hereford cattle were purchased from a rancher located north of the Nevada Test Site. These animals were moved to the test site after purchase. In I958 sixteen

have raised replacements for the animals sacrificed in our investigative program

-since that time. The animals in the Nevada Test Site herd are managed in the same way local ranchers handle their herds. They range over the

Frenchman and Yucca Flats area of NTS. We do not attempt to keep them from grazing in contaminated areas. A mixture of cottonseed meal and salt .is provided at the water points. All animals are numbered and a health record is kept for each individual.

Sample animals are obtained from two oeher herds operated by the

University of Nevada. They are located at Knoll Creek and Delamar Valley,

Nevada. Knoll Creek is approximately four hundred air miles north of the

Test Site. Delamar Valley is one hundred miles due east. The Delamar

Valley herd approximates conditions in the vicinity of the test site and iiddirectly affected by fallout that is produced by test activities

53 at NTS. The Knoll Creek herd is not affected directly by NTS activities

and the radioactive isotopes observed there are the result of world wide

fallout. These two herds act as controls for our Nevada Test Site herd,

Five animals from each of the herds are sacrificed in Hay and

November. The sampling program consists of a cow-calf pair (at time

of sampling), a yearling (at time of sampling), a two year old (at time

, of sampling), and a three year old (at time of sampling).

The animals are shot in the cranium with a rifle. A complete post

mortem examination is then conducted on each sacrificed animal. A

portion of the thyroid, eye, spinal chord, liver, lung, heart, costro-

chondral junction of eighth rrb, adrenal, kidneys, reticular-rmen

fold, and colon, is submitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology,

Washington, D. C. for microscopic examination. Evidence of injury or

------damage-- to--the -ttssues as a--result--of - radiatfon is the- primary -concern- --

of this examination.

Muscular tissue, liver, thyroid, bone (proximal third of the femur,

distal third and costro-chondral junction of the eighth rib) and rumen

contents are secured from each animal. A pooled fecal sample from

each herd is also obtained at time of sacrifice. 'Ihese samples

are processed and the levels of radioactivity present areddetermined

by the University of Nevada and the Southweern Radiobiological Health

Laboratory of the United States Public Health Service.

The animals of the NTS, Knoll Creek, and Delamar Valley herds have

been exposed to the full spectrum of fallout fission products over the

past six years as produced by USSR and U. S. Test programs. There has

been an uptake of many of these isotopes by the animals. At only one time has the Radiation Protection Guide, as established by the

Federal Radiation Council for humans, been exceeded. At the end 131 of Hardtack Phase I1 the level of I in the thyroids of the NTS cattle were slightly above the Radiation Protection Guide for humans.

This level dropped rapidly after cessation of test activity and was almost undetectable the following Spring. 144 106 Ihe isotope pairs, Cesium-Broesodymium , Rhodiuxn-Ruthenium 95 and Zirconium-Niobium are produced in the fission process in relatively large amounts. They are present in the rumen and fecal samples obtained

fruan the test animals. These isotopes are not readily metabolized and apparently pass through the alimentary canal without absorption. Small amounts may be incorporated in the tissue of the animal, but the bulk of the activity simply passes. through with injested material. They

Barium-Lanthanium are present in the rumen and fecal samples.

Low levels are also obaerved in bones of the animals. The activity is 40 roughly equal to the amount of Potassium , which is a naturally occurring

isotope. Ihe low levels. of these isotopes and the small mounts that absorbed by the animal indicate they are not a threat to the health of the

animals.

137 Cesium is abundantly produced in the fission process. It is

metabolized by the animal and is present in the liver and Prusculature. 137 We have observed more Cesium in the muscle than liver. The amounts

observed in the NTS cattle have been the sameas that measured in muscle

samples procured at random from other areas of the United States. lhis

element is absorbed raadily when present in the biosphere and could bee- of concern to us. At the present time the levels are low and are not dangerous.

65 zinc is present in the liver and muscle samples. Since Zinc

is not a fission product, it is surmised that the isotope is produced

by activation of naturally occurring elements within the range of the neutron flux. It is interesting to note this element is readily absorbed by the animals and is present in higher levels at NTS than the.4 other two areas. - k

131 -3 Iodine is mtabolized hg the animals and is rapidly incorporat&" -,. . in the thyroid. This isotope is of interest and concern because of the -

ability of the thyroid gland to concentrate it. A large amount of the

isotope is pr~ducedin the fission psosess and a high percentage sf the - - amount that becomes available to an animal or man is rapidly deposited

in the thyroid gland. The isotope is secreted in the milk of cattle.

This method of entering the food chain and the possible exposure

of infants and young children to the isotope secreted in this manner

has been and is a cause for concern. At the present time we have

not observed levels that are felt to be deleterious to man or animal.

Continued observation invest'igation is being conducted in this area.

90 , Strontium is present in the bones of our sample animals. It

has not been appreciably higher than samples procured from other areas 90 of the United States. The indication is that Sr levels are a result

of world wide rather than local fallout. These observed levels have bean

very low and are not a caase for concern at this time. In summary I would like to say that for the past six years dample animals have been killed from three herds of .beef cattle in widely scattered areas of Nevada. Samples from these animals have been submitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology to be examined

nicrosco~icallyrfor possible damage to the tissues from radiation.

Other samples have been secured and processed for levels of radio- isotopes by the Univerafty of Nevada and the Southwestern Radiological

Health Laboratory, USPHS. The animals in the herds were handled as normal range cattle and special precautions were not taken to protect them from radiation.

At this time they have not exhibited any deleterious affects - from ranging on those areas most highly contaminated by test activities at the Nevada Test Site. Ihe reproduction rate has been as high or higher than in comparable herds of cattle in Nevada. The calves

Our observations through six years of operation of the Offsite

Animal Investigation Project indicates that the level of radiation necessary to produce observable dainage to range cattle will have to be considerably higher than that which has been present on the

Nevada Test Site since October of 1957. THE BIGHORN SHEEP OF LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

James Sleznick, Jr. Park Ranger Lake Mead National Recreation Area Boulder City, Nevada

An agreement in 1936 and 1947, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, between the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service established Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Both agencies are part of the Department of the Interior. Under this agreement the National Park Service supervises the activities, plans and developments within the area. The Bureau of Reclamation administers Hoover and Davis Darns, which were built by that agency. The 3000 square miles area contains approximately 240 miles of the Colorado River system, 93 miles of the Grand Canyon and several canyons of smaller magnitudes,

The creosote bush (Larres sp. ) is the typical desert indicator plant of the area. In the higxer elevations we find Joshua trees and finally in the highest portions a pinon pine-juniper community. This ------altitudinal-range-varies-from 517-feet to 6140-feet-above sea-level.------Precipitation is approximately six inches per year.

The desert bighorn sheep are one of the largest mammals to be found in the Recreation Area. This animal has been reported in'many locations,including Iceberg Canyon, the Overton Arm, Boulder Canyon, Windy Canyon and the Davis Darn region.

I would like to relate to the council some of my observations of bighorn sheep as seen in the Black Canyon; that portion below Hoover Dam and above the landing known as El Dorado Canyon. Observations were made from a boat with about one-half dozen from an automobile.

A total of 567 sheep were counted during 108 sightings over a period of two years. The majority of the sightings were made on the Nevada side of Lake Mohave. The largest herd seen at one time, however, was a group of 23 sheep grazing inside the fence on the Arizona side of Hoover Dam. On the lake I have seen groups of 18 sheep on the Nevada side and 13 sheep on the Arizona side. I once counted 35 sheep while patroling approximately 60 miles of shoreline in Black Canyon in one day. The sheep seem to prefer certain accessible areas of the canyon, i-1 Crosscurrent Rapids, the Gaging Station, Indian and Roaring Rapids on the Nevada side are popular. On the Arizona side, Indian Rapids, Cranes - nest Rapids, and Monkey Hole have had large sheep groups from time to time. All these locations tend to have a good browsing condition during Low water.

July, August and September appear to be the best times for seeing bighorn in the Black Canyon. At that time they can be seen feeding on the lush vegetation that develops along the shoreline. Each summer the water level of Lake Mohave is lowered for agricultural and other requirements and as the mudflats and washes are exposed a relatively heavy growth of grass and other annuals appear. Bighorn have been observed to stay in these general areas for periods up to several weeks. During the winter months vegetation along the shoreline is underwater forcing the sheep to browse further inland.

At night the sheep stay along the precipitous canyon walls and move down to the mudflats around daybreak. They sometimes spend the entire day along the lake feeding on annuals, tamarix and nearby mes - quite trees. On a few occasions rams have been seen breaking up barrel

The lake appears to be an important source of water for the sheep, especially during the hot summer months. There are several seep walls and springs along and away from the lake and some animals may rely on this source exclusively. At Ringbolt Rapids I have found several drip springs that have been enlarged by sheep and apparently used as a source of water. Sheep using these and other hidden watering places can move through the canyon country and never be seen by personnel in boats.

The mating habits of the bighorn can sometimes be seen in the summer as the animals feed near the water. Ewes have been seen taking on rams in July and August. My earliest sighting of lambs this year was February 25th. Last year the lambs were also seen in February. Young lambs show a curiosity towards boats but they do not permit observers to get too close. Competition among the rams for ewes has never been observed to be very keen. On two occasions I have watched a ram stand off suit- ors, but generally speaking there seems to be a harmony among the sheep here. Rams of all sizes appear in these mixed bands during the summer. One time hatchery personnel at Willow Beach watched a pair of rams butt for an estimated half hour, but this to my knowledge has been the only Long encounter reported in my present tenure at Willow Beach.

During the summer season the individual and groups of sheep can sometimes be approached very closely. Rams' do not seem to fear an approaching boat, but an alarmed ewe can excite a whole herd to climbing a canyon wall or racing across a wash. Remarkable pictures of sheep can be had at this time of the year with relative ease.

Bighorn sheep are Lost from the area by several means. Once an animal broke it's leg and was found by a visitor in a remote wash only to die a few hours later. Road kills occur on both sides of the dam. I recall two or three animals being killed last year by motor vehicles. Las t September I found a 314 curl ram floating in the lake near the hatchery. It's horns were worn indicating it must have rubbed on the gravel =~ut5um - of the iake before fimtiag to the surface. I suspect that the aaimai accidently drown when it either fell into or was forced into the lake. Public hunting is permitted in the Recreation Area with the exception of the designated closed areas.

- -- - .------The -feral burro is another-animal- that we have-at La-ke--Me-zd?-- Burros are generally seen iu the late afternoon and heard at night. They apparently water at the lake's edge at that time and then return t~ the remote washes after filling up. Competition between the burro and the bighorn might occur at the wash level for the available plants. At other times the sheep utilize the less accessible canyon walls and rim rock while the burros use the flatter land further away from the lake.

Generally speaking, the bighorn sheep is a popular and much looked for member of the Lake Mead fauna. Many visitors, both local and from far away places, have expressed job in being able to see sheep while out on the lake. Campers have watched sheep feed and play within sight of the campground. At night, the campfire conversation about bighorn are interesting and stimulating. The bighorn sheep of Lake Mead National Recreation Area are truly animals not soon forgotten by visitors to this area. SOME DESERT BIGHORN REFLECTIONS

Gale Monson Branch of Wildlife Refuges Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife U. S. Department of the Interior Washington, D. C.

This is the second consecutive year I have missed a Desert Bighorn Council meeting, and just now it doesn't appear the chances of my-ever attending another are very good. Though I an no longer on the scene, my interest in and concern for our favorite animals has not lessened, and I will always hope to keep in touch with what is happening to and for them. What I have to present today are just some of the thoughts I have been turning over in my mind during the past year, none of them profound. I hope they may be of interest and even of stimulation to some of you.

Desert bighorn populations are of the greatest interest to us. How many are present in any range of desert mountains, why there should be more in one range than in another, how they are distributed at different seasons, and so on, are not only fascinating subjects but some of the most practical we can deal with. I would lske to discuss a particular situation in some detail, that of the relative number of bighorns on the Desert Game Range in

------Nevada and the Kof a Game Range in- Arizona. ------. ------Lacking more precise information, and considering that actual limits of desert bighorn habitat are difficult to define, I think I can say with some accuracy that there are about 26 townships of habitat in the Desert Game Range, as compared to 11 townships in the Kofa Game Range. There is roughly two and one-half times as much bighorn habitat in the former as in the latter. The estimated bighorn population of the Desert Game Range is 1,500 animals, which is 6.6 times as great as the estimated 225 on the Kofa Game Range. Stated more graphically, the bighorn density on Desert Game is 56 animals per township, while on the Kofa it is only 20 animals per township, or 65 percent less.

Why should this be so? The obvious answer is that the ~esertGame Range is more blessed with food and water, but this can be questioned. I have seen both areas, and know the Kofa Game Range very well. No one would say the Kofa comes anywhere close to being overused by bighorns or mule deer, whether we are lboking at water or vegetation. Could it be that.food better suited to the bighorn's physiology is present in greater quantity on the Desert Game' Range? I doubt this, too. There appears to be a good variety of nutritious plants, grasses and browse and fo-rbs, on the Kofa, possibly a better variety than there is on the Desert Game Range. We become more perplexed when we realize that roughly two-thirds of the supply of Desert Game Range bighorns, or about 1,000 animals, is in a single mountain range, the Sheep Range, which contains only about seven townships. This works out to a density of nearly 145 animals per township, or over seven times as much bighorn density as on the Kofa and 5% tines as much as on the.balance of the Desert Game Range. If a relative abundance of food and water is the reason for the Sheep Range's productivity, then ~7hyare there no'bighorns whatsoever in a great deal of country in Nevada, Utah, and northern Arizona that is quite similar to the Sheep Range?

There is no ready answer to such questions. It does appear that the desert bighorn's density is governed by factors too subtle for us to dis- cern. Since these factors may rest on a complex and easily disarranged natural equation, it would seem that the less we disturb him a~dtamper with his environment, the better chance we have of keeping the desert bighorn on the scene..

hother and related source of wonderment is the distribution of desert bighorns within the State of Arizona. Why are they confined mainly to the 1 ----- .. LVWSDL, hottest, ~iidiiiiist aid seci5.ons of the stace? The historical and archaeological record shows this has always been true. No evidence exists that bighorns ever lived in recent geological times in appreciable numbers anywhere in the state except from the Baboquivari Mountains and the Phoenix area west and northwest to the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, excluding the fairly well-vegetated and watered Hualpai Mountains. An exception ------. ------could-be the generally unforested Peloncillo ~6GXZinT~inTheTouth~ along the New Mexico line, which represents a sort of island of bighorn habitat that reached over to include the Big Hatchet Mountains in New Mexico, and possibly some low-lying mountains in extreme northern Chihuahua. The bighorn now has practically vanished from this area. I have no answer to this riddle of distribution, unless it be a matter of relationship with the mountain lion. This large predator is almost absent from southwestern and western Arizona, where the bighorns are. I note that it is a rare animal on the Desert Gme Range, but I do not know its former or present status in the Peloncillo-Big Hatchet region.

Some of the most picturesque and most intensely interesting desert bighorn habitat is found in the granite and lava mountains of northwestern Sonora, and in Baja California and Tcrritorio de Baja California Sur. The American habitat of bighorn skeep is contiguous with that in Mexico. I advocate that our, two countries work together in what is surely a common interest more assiduously than we have in the past. Time is short, since there zre evidences that all may not be well with the Nexican populations. Recent visits to the Pinacate region indicate that biqhorns nay aJready have disappeared from this area where once they were described as plentiful. While at Kino Bay during our 1961 Conference, I talked to Sr. Felix, who operates a boat landing in the area, concerning bighorns. Sr. Felix expressed alarm over their welfare in the nearby Sierra Chichichora, south of Pico de Johnson. This sierra is the southernmost point of bighorn habitat in Sonora. He related how a short time before a party of hunters had arrived in the vicinity with a plenitude of firearms and hunting equipment, jeeps, and a local guide, and had been successful in wiping out an entire band of bighorn-rams, ewes, and lambs. It would not take many parties of this nature to quickly exterminate the bighorn in Sonora. The amount of protection required by bighorn sheep populations has been a subject of much debate. I have already touched on this to some degree. I think it is pretty well established that the bighorn sheep is a comparatively intolerant animal regarding any sort of continuous human disturbance, and additional steps to guarantee that bighorns will be un- molested in significantly large portions of their ranges need to be taken. Camping, prospecting, and road building activities in bighorn habitats need to be controlled, especially considering the potential increase in these activities in future years. Off-road vehicular travel especially poses a problem There seems to be no easy solution to such control chal- lenges, but their threat to bighorn populations must be continually ham- mered on until public opinion is moved to the point where something will - - - --be -- done ._- Perhaps --a res-oluti-on-t-o this effect _ fr-om the Counci 1-would be = a helpful starting point. I am convinced that, if the present inertia continues much longer, the days of the bighorn in the arid Southwest and Mexico are surely numbered.

One more subject for cogitation, and this paper will end. I have totaled all bighorn sight records from the Kofa and Cabeza Prieta Game Ranges during the last 8 years, 1955 through 1962, and find that on the Kofa a total of 651 rams were seen as compared to 602 ewes. This is a ratio of 52 rams to 48 ewes, or an almost 1:l sex ratio. I would regard this as a natural ratio, unless somehow disproved. It suggests that good management would include maintaining this ratio. On the Cabeza Prieta Game Range, the data give us 317 rams to 328 ewes, which results in a sex ratio of 49 rams to 51 ewes,again practically a 1:l ratio. THE WYNNE.-E~IWARDS TREOKY APPLIED TO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

Winston E. Banko Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Washington, D. C.

First off let me clear up the obvious question regarding the identity of Wynne-Edwards and provide you with a thumbnail description of bis theory. Then I will attempt to relate the concept to the desert bighorn sheep and their dispersion, behavior and population levels.

Professor V. C . Wynne-Edwards , is Regius Professor of Natural History, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a former student of the farnous animal ecologist Charles Elton. But what is more pertinent here is his authorship of a brand new book ANIMAL DISPERSION IN REUTION TO SOCIAL BEXAVIOR (1962, Hafner Publishing Company, New York, $10.25).

Don't be fooled by the technical sounding, cloud 9 title. This book, containing docmnted evidence and a f'ull account of his theory, is a king size but eminently reads6le volume. It is, I think, destined to become a classic. One reviewer has already called 2% "eLe -ask -jqu*-t e-jnt~I~i5.~-~n nat-jdMs"arcj sfnce ZL-rlas Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES." Be that as it may, it is my opinion that the Wynne-Edwards treatise throws new light on answers which have puzzled wildlife biologists for years.

I * Now the paper cover on the book says that the point of 3&dby -sloaz -QQynne;-Edwaras-i s largTly a- -- novel ------one, - . ------and it is, the theory resting qon factual material drawn from the whole animal kingdom. In expounding his new concept, which was not apparent to him mtil after he had surveyed the evidence, the good Professor deals with the mechanism by which the population densities and dispersion of animals are controlled. In addition to the central themes of population balance and social behavior, the volume treats many collateral topics of general interest--nsethods of communication among animals, longevity, polygamy, tradition, mimicry, cannibalism, and a host of other social phenomena, all of1 which turn out in some way or other to be relevant tb dispersion and population levels. Further, Wynne-Edwards performs this comprehensive task with facts, logic, and reason--refreshing to those of us unschooled in the mathematical Jargon of the modern animal population statistician.

Now for the theory in a nutshell. Did you ever try boil- ing down 653 fact-filled pages? I can do no better it seems than quoting in part from a book review which appeared in the -IBIS (NO. 4, Vol. 104, Oct., 1962) by E. M. Nicholson, a noted student of animal populations, as follows: "This review can only summarize briefly the six hundred closely reasoned and fact-filled pages in which Professor Wynne-Edwards has made a comprehensive review of animal behaviour in seeking to show that many of its unexplained features can be interpreted as 'epideictic' displays 'to test the population density and stimulate responses which will hold it at or restore it to the optimum'. He points out that where we can still find nature undisturbed by human interference, there is generally no indication that the habitat is run down or destmctively overtaxed. On the contrary, the whole trend of ecological evolution seems to be towazds the highest state of productivity that can be built up within the limitations set by the inorganic environment. Chmnic over-exploitation and mass poverty occur only as a kind of adventitious disease almost certain to be swiftly suppressed by natural selection.

"How does this powerful and all-pervasive selection operate and where can we detect it at work? If each species maintains an optimum population-density on its own account, not only will it be providing the most favourable conditions for its own survival, but it will automatically offer the best possible living to species dependent on it for food. This calls for a homeostatic control system asadgous to, and no less coxnplex than the physiological systems that regulate the internal environment of the body and adjust it to meet changing - ---needs .-Such a- control system -cannot*-be- based eithe on individual or an interspecific selection. It pre- supposes group selection and implies that, irrespec- tive of different degrees of gregariousness or solFtariness, all animals becoze members of societies which form an organization capable of providing conventional competition. Sucb competition must prevent a direct struggle for existence, which would perma- nently damage the habitat, by substituting abstract goals such as possession of territory or attainnaent of a status carrying with it the undisputed right to use available resources. Individuals which fail to achieve such status are excluded from reproduction and may be displaced from the most suitable habitats, but they do no< unless in quite abnormal circumstances, continue tc? fight or compete for food against those which have achieved status through conventional competition. For this purpose acceptance as members of a social group is equivalent to possession of individual territory and every gradation between the two is illustrated. "The necessary mechanisms to achieve the degree of population regulation which demonstrably is achieved in nature are therefore the existence of organized competition capable of continuously adjusting populations to resources by enabling changing pressures on resources to be sensed and by bringing about corresponding aajustments in f'uture population density. The particular devices and conventions used may and do exhibit endless diversity. Owing to their inherently 'artificial' nature, they also permit and even encourage extravagances of ornament, voice, or behaviour, in sharp contrast to the relentlessly utilitarian products of other types of selection. The vital importance of such regulation Justifies large demands on the time and energy of an.lmals concerned, but failure to interpret correctly the actions involved has led obsemers in many cases to regard them as pointless and bizarre. "Wh& are these actions? k birds, they include territorial activity and song, communal display, and roosting, and mass flights such as the mysterious 'dreadst - of nesting terns and gulls. Among aquatic invertebmtes Professor me-Edwards sbws reason to believe that the adespread vertical daily move- - ments of crustacea and many planktonic animals have a-similar function, -as -do the- pecuar-mass=-dances-of-- whirligig beetles and the noisy choruses of a number of shoaling fishes and crustacea such as snapping or pistol-shrimps. In mammals the caterwauling of cats, roaring of stags, and choruses of vizcachas are outstanding examples. Among insects, the well-known 'mating flights' of ants and invasions of locusts are extreme examples of shh phenomena. One of the main requirements for success is synchronization and this is usually achieved by concentration at identi- fiable seasons and times of day, dam and dusk being the simplest and most favoured, as in the familiar dawn chorus of all the singing birds in a neigh-- hoad during the breeding season."

So much for the general theory. E. M. Nicholson paints with a wide brush however, and it is usem at this point to see how well our specific knowledge of the desert sheep can be made to fit the broad conceptual panorama left by the esteemed professor. -

At this point it is Important to recognize that relating the desert sheep populations to the Wynne-Edwards theory is only possible because the bulk of the bighornst hsbitat remaining, I especially the forage, is yet essentially unmodified by man. Were the situation otherwise, interpreting the concept for this species 'might not be valid, for the natural regulation of animal numbers may be, and often is, thrown out of balance by man-caused factors-- as any wildlife biologist knows.

While the job of applying the Wynne-Edwards concept to management of wildlife species is ultimately a job best left to the indiddual biologist, I think we can make sone useful obsekations within our collective experiences to test the theory in a general way. For if Wynne-Edwards is correct, and I at least can find no openings for serious criticism, then inferences inportant to the management of desert bighorn sheep may be drawn on the basis of what is already known. In some cases existing programs could be carried forward with greater conf'idence, or perhaps new actions implemented without further or mare intensive researches. Thus, Wynne-Edwards' theory may be of the greatest practical value to us.

If the dispersion and density of desert bighorn sheep populations are essentially self-regulated within Hmits of the food SLX~~,=S in4ic~t~d b-y the Wjmie-Ed'~t& At&e~~f,then the overall validity of his thesis might be first and most simply tested by asking ourselves if we know of cases where overutilization of forage 'by 'bighorns has resulted, with a consequent mortality in the population. Apparently this has not happened, or at least it is not common, for widespread range damage by bighorns would be a topic new to most ------.------* deed.-eet66e------of us. opposite problem appears to edst--that of meas- uring the degree of forage utilization, so little and irregular are use patterns evident..

It should also be mentioned that these desert sheep, like other ungulates, are far along in the evolutionary scale envisioned . by man. Although their social order may appeaz to be loose and unorganized to us, it is actually of a relatively high order when compared with many forms of animal life. One cannot read the monograph by Welles and Welles (1%~)without being impressed with the social aspects of desert bighorn sheep behavior. Thus, we are assured that the social framework eldsts in this species to provide the nec- essq testing and response mechanism for the homeostatic or self- regulatory population density and dispersion machinery Wynne-Edwards talks about.

Other than the obvious significance of mating, what social relationships play the most vital role in regulating dispersion and density? Since the ability to inflict physical damage lies close to the source of animal behavior in societies, let us look at "fighting" aspect of bighorn ram behaeor. Wynne-Edwards gives us the general rule in the animal world as follows:

"Threats constitute a very common type of communication. In most anilnals their prime use is intraspecific, as shown by the fact tbat the organs used to convey them are often not present in individuals, but only perhaps in the adult males . . . . However it may be conveyed, threat implies a power to hurt on sufficient provoca- tion, but it has come to provide a conventional method of repelling rivals without resorting to wholesale bloodshed and fights to the death. Direct competition can thus ass^ symbolic forms, and decisions between rivals can be reached by abstract conventional methods. " Ih the light of these general remarks, comments on bighorn behavior by Welles and Welles become mre meaningful. "Fighting with other males is a much publicized but little understood phase of bighorn history . . . . The evidence of this report points strongly towards a ritualistic emphasis on the interpretation of the activity . . . certainly it has nothing to do with premating collection and maintenance of a 'harem' or ewe herd; nor does it seem to result in the elimination of one ram from participation in mating activity with a certain ewe . . . . Rams seem to be uninter- ested in a contest with an inferior opponent."

But yon rimy say the question of h4)r a given bighorn society. acts to regulate dispersion and density is the crucial one. I agree. Let US deal with dispersion first. Consider again the general statement of Wynne-Edwards.

"Of the, sociable ungulates some at least have communal - territories -within which they spend- much or-aXk40f-their ------lies, though they may be continually moving from place to place within them so as to take advantage of the best that the hour or season can offer in the way of cover or grazing . . . . The dispersion of gregarious species . . . in which the individual claims no private property but enjoys an vnspecified share in the coma- nal territory of the herd to which it belongs, resembles that of the schools of certain fishes such as Catostomus . . . . So long as the group is capable of regulating its nunibers through control of the birth rate, or by means of the social hierarchy and competitive pressure or persecution, expelling any unwanted surplus, comrmmally held territories constitute a system of dispersion as practical and efficient as any other."

Now for the correlative bighorn statement by Yelles and Welles, "As a factor in the distribution and survival of bighorn, food hsbits and feeding behavior emerge close to the top of the list, for we have here what amounts to a conservation program a la bighorn, with four main points: (1) By eating very little of any one plant at a time, the bighorn seldom destroy a plant by browsing. (2) By constant traveling while feeding, they allow plants to recover. (3) BY wide dispersal in small bands, they flrther minimize browsing damage. (4) By their ability to subsist for indefinite periods on completely dormant and even dead plant material, they can with immunity survive droughts resulting in the decimation of many other species of desert animals. (5) Their apparent ability to substitute green forage for free water allows them to reach distant food supplies that otherwise would not be available to them."

Thus faz the theory seems to fit the bighorns1 case history. ~utwe still have the mst vital question of all left to answer. How does the social machinery of bighorn sheep act as a population valve, stepping up recruitment when population levels are low in relation to food and equally important, cutting down surpluses before the capacity of the forage is exceeded. Let Wynne-Edwards again provide the general background.

"Many experiments have been made in the laboratory on population growth and regulation: all have yielded fundamentally similar results . . . . Crowding per se can have a depressing effect even in the presence of abundant food. When experimental populations such as these are exploited or cropped, by regularly destroying a proportion of their members in a manner that parallels predation , . . the recruitment rate is found to respond . . . by rising. In none of the expe did mortality ever result from starvati

------A 0%-numbers- always--took- place in advance emergency . . . . One to one matings between and female animrrls appear very extravagant, especially where the males (which contribute so ILttle materially to posterity) are as big or bigger than the females, equally numerous, and excessively fecund. "

But one may say it seems.evident from a number of field studies including those of Ock Deming, the WeUes's and others, that the obvious reason that there are not mre bighorns is due chiefly to the high loss of lambs. Yearung sheep, in relation to young lanibs couited, are few--whether in Death Valley or some other habitat. Yet no one has been able to pin down and identify the predominant causes of lamb losses.

Offhand, the combined causes of lamb mortality in any given population, acting independently of population size, would appear to limit the size of the adult sheep papulation. But this concept conflicts with the Wynne-Edwards theory which says, in effect, that characteristics inherent in the social organization, being population dependent, would af'fect both the number of lambs dropped and, to a varying degree, their sumdval. The Wjmne-Edwards theory is not yet provable for bighorns at this point, but I suspect that he is closer to the answer than those of us who have been looking for population control factors which sre independent of population density. How else could the "barvestable surplus" of game populations generally be explained if Wynne-Edwards or a similar theory did not exist? Do we hold that the bighorn is an exception?

Thus, we come to the third and last phase of these discussions, that concerning management implications. If the Wynne- Edwards concept is valid, including facets which the does not per- at m~ to ernlore here, what does this mean in terms of bighorn sheep management? It is my personal opinion that the following measures would then be indicated:

1. Bighorn sheep managers- need to take a new and harder look at use of bighorn range by other rumisants, particularly livestock and deer, with a view of elimbating or reducing such uses where possible.

2. Hunting, -through homeostatic processes, acts to Increase recruitment in established and secure big- hmm ppdstinnee Enmmr, *&re my ?e ~~~s+-~ in harvesting eves as well as rams in equal numbers If hunting is perndtted.

3. Because home range traditions have been shm to be a prbary factor goire- the distribution .of big------horn- populations, - and picuieering- is--slow-'liecaae-=ofr--;= substantial bafiiers ta isolated ranges, transplanting bighorns to suitable empty habitats would be a mnre efficient management use of animals than hm- vesting end should be accorded a higher priority and be more actively pursued. 4. Water development as a general measure of management should be approached cautiously and with specific needs of bighorn populations in mind. If use of the resultant developed water by other range competitors, such as deer or Uvestock is envisioned, then the development proposals should probably not be carrled out. 5. Considering the limited averall productivity of desert for&e patspecies, in&ducing closely related exotic herbivores within eventual range of bighorn habitats. is potentially inimical insofar as bighorns are concerned.

Ws.concludes my.discussion. Frankly, I don't expect you to accept what' I've said without better evidence than I've been able to conjure ug within my allotted spas of time. Nevertheless, my talk will have served its purpose if it has stimulated your thinking. After 0,a new theory is only a different way of thinking about a subject. Professor Wynne-Edwards' book packs a lot of natural history meaningful to game managers between its sturdy covers, and I recommend its acquisition by each of you who puzzle over simple riddles in the animal kingdom. In the meantime I'll do my best to answer your questions.

BANKD - (Discussion)

(The tape was not complete but Mr. Welles makes some comment that indicates conflicting ideas and Mr. Banko answers him)

Banko - I'm not fully prepared to defend this concept. It's one of the most interesting theories to come to my attention in recent .years but I'm willing to discuss it further at this time.

Wood - The Wynne-Edwards paper you discussed here, I can't really say it is a new concept. It's been with us quite some time. He did make it quite general through the animai -kingdom, but the same theory has been presented by men in this country and Australia. So, if you want some other data on this regulation of population the greatest source of pros and cons are summarized in an article by Cline and several others

here. I just want to support your statement. There isn't anything basically new here since they are really Darwin's old concepts rolled out to include everything in the animal kingdom and we can apply them.

Banko - In that sense its good. Graf - Yes and I'll help you defend them anytime you want help. Goodman - There is a man in California who makes the statement that tk best game management he can figure out is just to put a fence around something and then just let it go by itself. The management here is that these animals have some inborn homeostatic mechanism and the best thing you can do about it is to learn about it and then just let it go.

Banko - No, I think we have enough problems remaining after we apply this man's theory that it's going to keep our generation and several others busy trying to unravel the mess we are stuck with. If man's existance within his envirnment was as a primitive force instead of a modern dynamic force, what you say would be true, but we have all so altered the characteristics of the face of the earth that we're beset now with the problem of trying to make sense out of it and of getting the most out of what is left and in this light we need some general theory to guide us as to what forces are in action and in operation beyond that which man can bring about. A DESEFtT BIGHORN STUDY: PART ONE

Norman M. Simmons U. 3. Fish and Wildlife Service aabeza Prieta Game Range Ajo, Arizona

' I. Introduction

The bottom rung in the ladder ts wise management of a wildlife species is a ecientifically planned study of an animal's behavior in its natural habitat.

fa April, 1962, the Bureau of Sport Fieherise and Wildlife initiated a basic three year study of the activities of desert bighorn sheep (&is canadensis) on the Cabeza Prieta Game Range, Arizona. Much of the first year of this study has been used in reviewing literature, lidtine the atudy area, obtaining and erecting instruments, and getting the "feela of the project. It ia much too early for oonclueioae, but we have come up with some interesting observatione and techaiquee of study. I would like t3 present to you at 'thie time an introduction to our study area, some of the techniques used in the study, and some caments on a few of our bighorn observations.

II,.. . Description of the Study Area ......

Ihe Cabeza Rieta Gaae Range lies along approximately 50 miles of the ~rizona-Sonora border. Its 660,000 acres accupy portions of Yuma and Pima Counties in aouthweetern Arizona,

Osolofcy This regim is characterized by a seriee of low, rugged, northwest trending mountain range8 eeperated by wide, alluvium-fillsd valleys. Elevatione range from 695 feet at Las Playas, a dry lake bed, to 3,323 feet in the Growler Mountaine--a difference of 2,628 feet.

'he conformation of the mountain ranges is of two types. 'he sierra-type mountains are narrow, jagged backbones of crystalline granite and metaaorphic rock. The Little Ajo, Agua Dulce, Granita, Bryan, Hohawk, Pinta, and Tule Mountains are of the aierra type. The meea-type mountain8 are oomposed primarily of bedded valaanice and are relatively flat Qr gently inclined massive blocks cut by recently- eroded canyons. The Childe, Growler, and parts of the Cabeza Rietq Mountain6 fall into this class. Climate The Game Ranpe- is in the most arid pert of Arizana, receiving less than five inches of rein during an average year. The western end of the Game Range has received lee8 than three inches of rain in thirty of the past sixty years (Institute of Atmsnheric Physics, 1960).

Almost half the Game Ranee's yearly precipitation falls between July and September. bet of the maderetely heavy precipitation of the eummer comes f'ram the Gulf of Mexico. It is of a showery nature, and the rains ere usually accompanied by etrong winds and blowing dust. Winter precipitation is frequently aseociated with large-scale cyclonic storms coming with prevailing weeterly winds. Winter precipitation is often lighter but of longer duration then summer reins. Snow and hail are uncommon on 'the Game Ranpe.

Humidity is very low on the Game Range. The summer months of May and June are the drie8.t of the year. Humi.ditiee of 2 percent have been recorded in the Yuna4bhawk area.

Temperatures on the Game Range normally riae into the middle tr high 60's iii tha eftsrncon and us'l;al?y stay above freezing at night during the coldeet part of the year. Summer temperatures reach values well over 100 degreee in the afternoon hours.

Vegete tion The Game Ranpe is in that floristi ion of the Sonoran -DeTe-It-~CC al7Fd.-th-8 Arizona- Bsert- (Odum, 195 The area i-s-~her~cterize-d------= by the ubiquitoue creosote bueh (Lerrea tridentata) that fills the broad valleye. Along drainage petterns are euch larger ehrube and trees as mesquite (Proeo* uliflora), catclaw (Acacia e . i), ironwood (0lnega . teaota), and palo v!!cidiuui micraphyllum~~eunderstory of plants consists of annual grasses and forb8 and euch perennial shrubs as the bur-sages (~ranseriadumaaa and F. deltoides) and brittle bueh (Encelia farinosa). The upper bajadas and eroding mountain slopes support a richer flore, as the ooarser soils allow a deeper fnfiltra- tion of rainwater. Here, above the palo verdee and ironwoode, tower the giant saguaros (CarneEiea jzipntea). The rocky elopes also support a vegetation rich in lerge members of the lily and amaryllis family, notably the agmes and nolines. Cholla cacti (huntia) of several species abound throughout the area.

Wildlife. Over 30 species of birds reside on the Game Range (Moneon, 1958). They include euch birds a8 the golden eagle (ARuA~~chrysaetos), the red-tailed hawk (Buteo j amaicensis), the mourning dove (Zenaidura macroura) Gambel' s quail (Lophortyx pambelii), the roadrunner -(~eacoccyx californianus), the cmmn raven (Gorvus corer), and the LeConte's thrasher (~oxost,omalecontti). The Game Ranpe lies in the path of swarms of eprin~migrants, m~stnoticeable of which are the white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica). ZF,s ieptilee and ineecte found on the Game Range are those that are naturally adapted to the arid conditions of the area, with impervioue integumente and dry excretions. Some resident mammals such ae the kangaroo rat (Dipodomys) and the pocket mouse (Pero~nathus) have developed remarkable secondary adaptations. These animals can live indefinitely on dry seeds and do not rsquire free water (Odum, 1-9). 'he less arid eaetern portion of the Game Range supports the greater populations of large mammals. The Growler and Agua Dulce Wountains mark the met western extension of mule deer (0docoileue heaionus) range. This area also support6 many of the Sonoran antelope (Antilooapra americana) and javelina (Pecari tejrcu) , though theee animals are found leas frequently throughout most of the Game Range. Bighorn eheep oacupy nearly all of the mountainous areas, and the grey fox (Uroc on cinereoarpenteus), bobcat (Lynx -ruf'ue), and coyote islai&oam the valleys and lower .lopes.

111. History of Land Use

The available data on human ocaupation of the desert encompassing the present Game Range prior to 1500 have been pieced together by anthropologists in very recent years, A major archaeological site survey of the Game Ranpe wae conducted in 1962 and 1963. fn?ormatlon pthered from this survey was camoared with data from adjaoent areas and a general picture of the prehistory of the study

e~was-formed _----=-_ --.__ - _ ------

The advances of ioe during the Upper Pleistocene epoch, some 125,000 years ago, caused the rain belts of the world to move in toward the equator (Beale and Hoijer, -1954). As a result, the Sonoran Desert area received more rainfall during the Pleistoaene gladations than during periods when glaciers were receding. Perhaps during euah pluvial periods, the pre~entdesert was more habitable and supported reeident populations of early man. It is possible that bighorn eheep inhabited thie area at the eame time the firet humane were there. In the majority of references a3nsulted, the authors theorize that the sheep oroseed to Alaska From Siberia on ice as early as the mid-Pleisto- cane and then spread eouthward along the western mountain chaine until they reached the liaite of tolermnce for various environmental factor. (~ornaday,1914; Ober, 1931; Cowan, 1940).

About 5,500 yeare before the birth of Christ, there began a period of dry, hot climate. 3ome'anthropologiate believe that the Sonoran Desert waa unoccupied by man during this period. Then, about 2,000 B.C., another pluvial period began. Some of the first evidence of human occupatian of the present Game Ranpe was dated to thie period. Theae early humane, perhape immigrating from the north, have been named the San Meguitoe. Their- stone toole and sleeping circles have been found in and near all mountain ranges on the Game Qange.

From about 1,000 B.C. to nearly 1,000 A.D., the Armagosa people, successors to the San Dieguitos, occupied the Sonoran Desert. They left stone tsols from New Mexico to the California deserte.

After 700 A.D., the first Yuman Indiana aame into the Game Range area from the west and traveled through this desert west of the Growler Valley. East of the Growler Valley, the Hohokam people suc- ceeded the Armagoeaa, leaving their characteristic red-on-brown pottery.

me Sand Papago Indians came upon the scene around 1450 A.D. I I lhey roamed the area west of the Growler Valley between the Gulf of California and the Gila River. The Papago Indians occupied the more habitable area they live in today east of the Growler Velley. Membere of both ethnic groups probably hunted desert bighorn sheep, used their meat for food and their pelts and horns for clothing, decorations, and utensils. Both Sand Papago and Papago Indians were encountered by early Spanish explorers (~ayden,1963).

Recorded history of this little-known part of the Sonoran Desert began with the arrival of the Jesuit missionary Francieco Eusebio Kiao in 1687. He ie oredited as the first t~ traverse and map the whole of Pimeria Alta, the neme then epplied to southern Arizona and northern Sonora. He traveled several times in the area of the infamous Camino del Mablo (the Devil '8 ~i~hwa~).He visited Heart Tank (which he called Aguaje de la ~uns)in the Sierra Pinta, and crossed=--the=Cabeza-PrIe-taaa&untaine to-Tinajaa-ALtae (which he-named- - _ -_ Agua ~econdida),and traveled north along the Gila buntaine to the Gila River (Bolton, 1936).

For 20 yeare after Padre Kino's death in 1711, no Spaniard is known to have entered that portion of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. Then interest was revived in the area, and once epain missionaries viaited the miseions and Indian villages. They continued to work in Arizona until about 1920, when the belligerent Apache Indians forced them to abandon their missions.

The desert encompassing what is now the Cabeza Prieta Game

Range remained relatively untraversed by other than nomadic Sand ' Papago Indians until the U.S.-Mexican uer of 1846. After the war, the gold rush to the placers in Salifornie began. The Gila Fiver and the nearly waterless Camino del Mablo became principal immigration routes. Over 400 gold-eeekers are said to have perished on the Camino del Mablo (~r~an,1925).

In 1853, the Game Range became pert of' the United States ae a result of the Gadsden Purchase. The following year, the Boundary Commiaaion under W. H. Emory began its survey of the new international boundary. Records written by members of this survey party are the beet eerly descriptions of the flora and fauna of the southern part of the Game Range (Ibid.).

After 1854, minere and other immigrants flowed into the area that now includes the Game Range to exploit the richer copper deposits in Ajo, Arizona. There was then e marked increase in utilization of game animals for food. The efficiency of the hunter wae improved by firearms with rifled bores, so that game wae more eaeily obtained.

In 1894, the international boundary was re-eurveyed. A biological eurvey of the area along the boundary was aimultaneoudly conducted by Major E. A. Mearns. In 1907, Dr. D. T. McDougel, member of the Carnegie Ibsert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, led a scientific expedition along the southern boundary of the preeent Game Range to the Sierrm Pinacate in Mexico. Several bighorn sheep were collected during thie expedition (Hornaday, 1908). b

By 1915 the mining activity irom Growler kuntaine eeet through Ajo had increased oonsiderably with the establiehment of a copper ore reduotion plant in Ajo. Four to five thoueand people occupied this roaring mining camp. Even with the increase in population in Ajo, however, the vast deeert weet of the Growler kuntaine remained virtually unoccupied.

. The area encompassing the Cabeza Rieta Game Range hae changed little since the early 1900'e. The area is still unoccupied except for

- - - --a- fkw--Indiana-- living -just eas3 -of ,the-&o~ler ~unt~.==In~lB5.2, Game Range was established by presidential proclamation, wimaril the preservation of deeert bighorn sheep and antelope. Since the early years of World War 11, .the Game Range area has received almoet continuous use as an aerial gunnery range, but thie has eerved to keep it in its relat'iyely unoccupied state..

Thus the Gabeza Prieta Game Range ie a unique and ideal etudy area. Here man ie permitted to examine the deeert bighorn end its environment in nearly pristine conditione.

IV.. Methods and Meterdale

Man may enter a pristine area to learn what nature ie, but, in eo doing, he will introduce possibilitiee of distortion through hie own presence. The scientific method of investigation ie a meam of I supplanting and correcting our sense impreseions, which are likely to be infirm and erringR (Schneirla, 190). Page 77 missing Selectin? the studv area A large part of the first year of the bighorn study was spent getting the "eeln of the bighorn habitat and trying to select a limited area in which field work could be cancentrated. Two mountain ranges, the sierra Pinta and the Sierra Ague Dulce, were chosen as the principal study areas. These ranpes are relatively easy to reach from Ajo, are mostly Ree from the dangers of aerial gunnery practice, and support relatively large and cmcentrated ppulatime of desert bighorn. Both mountain ranees are similar in geology and flora, and both contain permanent water suppliee.

Collection of weather data Recording weather stations were installed in the study area during late 1962,-one in the Sierra Agua Dulce and one in the sierra Pinta. These cmsist of standard U. S. Weather Bureau instru~ent shelters houeing recording 30-day hygrothermopaphs. Fifteen precipitation gages were installed in the valleys surrounding the Sierra Ague klce and Sierra Pinta and on the lower slopee of these ranges. Sinca the gagea could not be checked soon after every rain, they had to be modified to reduce the rapid evaporation normal in this desert. The comercia1 type plaetic Tru Chek gages are charged with mineral oil to reduce evaporation to a negligible amount. Dr. Roger Hungerford of the University of Arizona designed the other type of gage used in the study area. This gage consists of a 4* inch diameter Coleman funnel inserted into a gallon jug. At leest 100 milliliters of kerosene are poured into the jug to retard evaporation. The gape oan then be buried in the ground so that only the funnel shows. When the gage contains

__ _ __- - rainwater---- =---3 ----the amount- -- - of _water in millililter-a-max-bbeeemul tipli-e-Llz constant 0.00773 to give the record of rainfell in inchee.

keather data are supplemenfed with micro-climatic data gathered . during each observation of bighorn sheep. These l~tterdata are gathered as close as possible to the observed bighorn each hour unless a noticeable change in weather conditions warrant8 additional measurements. A hand- aspirated peychorometer operated by a rubber bulb air pump is used to determine the relative humidity. Instantaneous-reading thermometera are used to measure air temperature at about three feet above the ground and at ground level. Air speed is recorded by a simple plastio wind meter. Incident light readings are taken with a General Electric Type PR-1 exposure meter. Percent cloud cover is estimated by the observer.

The effect of climate on bighorn sheep has been little studied. By continuou~lymeasuring weather cgnditious in the 'study area and by recording the micro-climete in the immediate area of the-observed bighorn while also recordjng their activities, we hope to determine some of the effects on bighorn of this facet of their environment. However, many environmental factors will tend to mask the effects of climate on bighorn activity. These factors will be nearly impossible tc~eliminate from the study and must therefore b+onsidered in the final analysis of the influence of climate on bighorn.

Observation and recording of biphorn activitg: Desert bighorn sheep were most often located after thoroughly searching likely terrain with binoculars. Once bighorn sheep are located, a 20-power telescope is often used to study them. The success of the observation often variee' directly with the distance between the observer and the eheep.

Wherever poseible, a bighora,between three and seven years old was eelected f'rom a group, and 'its movement8 were recorded in detail on a etandard observation form (Fig. 1). This age bracket waa chosen because it includes the most productive sheep in the herd and is therefore of mast interest to the Game Manager. The activities of other bighorn were also recorded, but individual meandering8 were not followed in the records. It was asau~edthet'the activitiee of the bighorn . eelected for recording purposes were, on the average, typical ~f the moveaents of' the remainder of the.adults in the gmup.

Distances moved by the sheep are estimated periodically during eaah hour to determine their rate of movement. It seemed necesenry to describe in eome way the typical rates of bigharn mwement. Therefore, their ratee of movement are classified into such divisions as run, a slow or sapid walk, and a meander. The time bighorn spend feeding an various plant epecies is being recorded in order to quantitatively describe their obeerved feeding habits. ------. -- The movements of each g&up of bighwn under. obeervation are being plotted on tracinp cloth overlying U. S. Geological Survey aerial photographs. These photographs, having a scale of 2.8 inchee to 1 mile, are of excellent quality, making accurate plotting of bighorn movements possible. Froa these data will come informetion on daily and-seasma1 cruising radii of the sheep. The various locations of bighorn sighting8 during eech =nth are plotted on .a large topographic map to indicate the mbnthly distribution of obeerved sheep.

Individual bighorn are followed and their activities recorded for several csnsecutive days, if poseible. Some sheep have auoh distinctive individual characteristios that their rn~vementeoan be intermit- tautly traced over a period of month8 or years. Plane are being made to maik the horns of ;heap with dye so that individuals can be more easily recognized over long periods of time. The marking technique has been developed by Dr. Charles Haneen and was described by him at a previous meeting of this cmncil.

Observation of other wildlife s~ecies - Obeervatione of animals that cloaely associate with the desert bighwn are also recorded. Predator feces are collected at every oppor- Observer Date Time Notes I I I Wind I -I Precip. Humidity $ Clouds $ Sun Index Elev. Slope dir. Slope q'p Terrain Edge Peak bvine Wash Geol. Dcm. Veg. Cactus Brush Grass Wee6 Bare Spring Tank Grow MUlt d' Jw. 8 AaultQ JUV. 9 Lamb - _-_--_Feeding--- Browse Forbs Grass Cactus Mineral Water Bedding Rirmin. Rest. Traveling Plarm Man other Distame M( Ws tfr Q Ab vp Dawn Contour File Grouped Scatter Alert-Watch Man Ungulate Other Unk. Xghting Figure 1.- BLghorn observation Playing f om Nursing tunity. Hair found in the fecal material ie examined and, if poesible, classified by the observer. Some speoimens have been collected for identification by experts.

V. Some Early Observations

Eavironmental influenoee: Ibponaohg: -. So far I have not obeerved bighorn sheep or 'sign more than 300 yards from rugged, hilly, or mountainous terrain on the Game Range. The oaves and rook overhang8 that abound in all the muntain rangee on the &me Range are used for aheltor from the sun during hot summer monthe, but the aheep apparently have little need for thie ahelter during the winter.

:Availability and distribution of food end weter IXlring winter months, bighorn may tend to feed in thb well- vegetated waehee l~cingthe lower-foothills. Sheep have been obeerved fesdiag in euch assae eeveral times thie winter. Sheep'sign beoame common In the lower waehea during the winter. IXlring the winter, the - - large waterholes are rarely visited by eheep. When they do water at the large-tanks, it is ueually. during a winter draught .' Only a few of the emnll, temporary pothole watera in a mountain range can be ohecked, so us have little idea of how often they need free water in the wintbr.

- _ -_ _- _ I -have _seen_them eat eucculedxa euch a1 cacti in the wlnter, --eo -- poaeibly------thie should be considered ae a significant emroe of winter mgieture.

:Effects of Other Wildlife . . bequitos, bees, and tioke were obeerved bothering aheqp, especially during the spring.and summer monthe. Bighorn heve been obeerved ehakin~their ears when wssuitoe have bean thick in the air and when ticke are present on the vegetation. Sheep, moderately to heavily infeeted with ticks, have been collected in muntain ranges near the Game Range. All eheep observed have appeared free of serious ectoparaaite infeatation.

Local ranchers have observed desert bighorn in this area feeding with their cattle and domestic shes?. This ia a rare occurrence, though similar aeeociationa have been obeerved in other etates. In the early 1920'8, a bighorn ram bred a %mbouillet ewe belonging to a Sand Papago Indian family living near the eoutheast corner of the Game Range. Several generations of hybrid eheep reeulted Prom thie match usgr grave, 1962).

Preliminary data indicate no significant predation on bighorn sheep on thie Game Range. I have examined about 420 predator fecal depoeite from the valleys and mountain rangee of the Gam Range to date. After field inspection, those containing mammal remains were campared with a reference callection of mammal haire. Predator fecee containing . large mammal remains were sent to a epecialiet for identificatisc. Of the more than 420 fecal depoeite examined, only four contained large mammal remains. Two of the depoeite contained bi~hornaheep hair, and two contained antelope hair. The fact that the fecee contained ungulate remains is not necessarily evidence of predation, as you well know. Much mare study of the relationehipe between predators and bighorn sheep ie needed.

Coyotee and golden eagles have been observed aeeociating with bighorn, especially at waterholee during hot summer'monthe. Ueually the eheep watched the predatore come in to water, but eeemed to ehow no nervoueness or fear in their preeence. Some of the coyotes eeemed quite fearf'ul of the bighorn and would often make a wide detour around them. A golden eagle perched very close to some watering eheep last summer. Some of the aheep watched the eagle as it cfrcled in to land, but none of them eeemed nervoue.

In March of 1965, however, two golden eagles were seen swoop- ing very cloee to eome ewes and lambs in the &fa Mountaine, Kofa Game Range. These sheep seemed nervous, and one ewe rose up and pawed at an eagle ae it eped by. The eagles eoon left the band of eheep without hurting any of them.

The direct influence.of man on the activitiee of the bighorn ie probably negligible in this isolated Game Range. The bighorn are sometimes visibly disturbed by the preeence of man and hie norke, but in .this area the dieturbance is only teaporery.

Here the bighorn are one of the most approachable of all large mammals. Their reaction8 to humane are variable, but generally the eheep tend to tolerate the preeence of man. Sheep have fed, watered, end bedded from 15 to 100 feet from where I eat taking notee. However, on other oacaeions bighorn have run away in fright at the eight of a man in a white ehirt appearing euddsnly on the skyline about a mile away. The sheep approach humane more readily than they allow the latter to approach them.

VI. Mecussion -.

During the first year of the study of the activities of the desert bighorn on the Cabeza Prieta Game Range, much time was spent in an introduction to the study area. Studiee of the geology and history of the Game Range were nearly oompleted. Literetura on the desert- bighorn eheep was reviewed, and obeervstion techniques were refined. Basic weather instruments were installed, end obeervatfoge of bighorn eheep activities were made. However, the houre of recorded bighorn activity are yet to3 few for mrthy analysie. A review of some of the literature on desert bighorn Indicates a lack of basic information about the habits and the environment of these animals. Eben the information we do have about the sheep in one area Is often not comparable with informstion gathered in another area. .We need a standard method of gathering information on the desert bighorn eo that our limited data may be pooled. The Deeert Bighorn Council can develop euoh standard research techniques through suggestions from its membere and the wsrk of its Techniaal Staff.

Literature Cited

Bcale, R. L. and H. Hoijer. 1954. An introduction to anthropolo.pg. The MacMillen Co., N. Y. 648 pp.

Bolton, H. E. 1936. Rim of Chrietendom. The MacMillan Go., N. Y. 644 PP.

Bryan, K. 1925. The Pepago country, Arizona. U. S. G. S. Water Supply Paper 499. Wt. Printing OViae, Wash. D. C. 438 PP.

Cowan, I. M. 1940. DLatribution and variation in the native sheep of firth America. Amer . Midland Naturalist, 24(3) :505-588

Hornaday, W. T. 1914. American natural hiatory. Ohas. ~cribner'8 Bone, N. Y., Vol. 11. 332 pp. . 1908. Camp-fires on desert and lava. Chae. Scribner'a Sone, N. Y. 366 pp.

Institute of Atmoepheric Physice. 1960. Arizona alimate. The Univ. of Ariz. Press, Tucson. Loose leaf. n.p.

?bnaon, G. 1958. Birde of the Cabeza Prieta Game Range. Ulpubl. (mimeo.) leaflet, U. 9. Fieh and Wildlife Service, Waeh. D. C; 4 PP*

Ober, E. H. . 1971. Mountain eheep of' California. Calif. Fiah and Game, 17(1) :2?-39.

Odum, 1959. Fundamentals of ecology. W. B. Saundere Co., Philadelphia.

Schneirla, R. C. 190. Relationship between observetion and experimen- tation in the field etudy of behavior. bthodoloey and Tech. for the Study of Animal Soc. Annels of the N. Y. Acad. of Sci., 31 (6) :1022-1042. SIMMONS (Discussion)

Kelly - Have you noticed any difference in populations between the two types of mountains that you have, the sierra and the mesa type mountains?

Simmons - I know very little about populations on the Game Range. Perhaps Gerald Duncan or some other one that has been there longer than I, can say something about that. I spend most,of my time on the sierra type but there is a difference in the environmental conditions between the two. That's a good question and well taken. Perhaps we'll find out something about this during this study.

Welles - Do you keep a chart of the identifying characteristics of the sheep you see or what do you jot down to try to remember. them?

Simmons - I take as complete notes on their characteristics as possible and this sher I intend to have a form with a silhouette of the sheep to record this information. It is to be primarily for the marked animals we spray.

Welles - I have a feeling that we still have a tendency to let this way of identifying sheep go wanting for the time when we can mark them. Simmons - Yes, I agree! Welles - In order to do this though we must be able to apply ourselves and be willing to acquaint ourselves with them.

------McCo lm- - -You-said- ehe -area- was--in- pristine condi-tion- and did =you--aZso-=say there was grazing?

Simmons - I don't believe I said there was grazing but there is grazing east of the Growler Mountains and a few other places. But nearly pristine conditions west of the Growler Valley. I suppose I should have qualified that. There is no use west of the Growler Valley because of the presence of the Air Force.

Hansen - Is this a research program you have or is it a management study? Simmons - Mr. Barcley! Barcley - ,Strictly a management study. Welles - You said that much more study was needed about the predator situation. At the risk of slighting some of my very good friends, I'd like to know why much more study is needed because I can't find anything in the literature anywhere that indicates any significant predation on bighorn sheep anywhere in the southwest. I can't see why this keeps coming up, that we need more study on predation.

Simmons - No study has been made of the predators in the sonaran desert area. We don't know whether there is or isn't predation on sheep. Welles - Alright! We don't have evidence that there is. Let me put it this way. I wonder why there are so many sheep when there is so much predation. If there is no evidence that there is, why do we have control measures instituted. I thought that there had to be a need for something before we did it. I was on my way out to one of our Game Ranges one time and I met the government trapper and in conversation with him he was telling me of all the predators there that he had been taking. So I asked if they had been having trouble and he said, yes, they have. So, I went out to the headquarters and tried to find out what the trouble was and no one knew what it was.

Barclay - We're not going to go into this. It will take up the rest of .the morning.

Morgan - I was going to answer that one by referring to the talk Ralph (Welles) had last year. You can ask these guys and they will answer anyway you want, and I think we have always had an idea of what we were doing on the Game Range as far as our coyotes and bobcats. This was like the man you.asked about the bighorn in your area and he answered that anyway you wanted him to. I think you brought this up, dmat Hermosillo. Welles - You mean by that, that I shouldnt continue bringing it up, that this is just another' one of those 'loose Ends that you were talking about.

Morgan - No, I think you know that the trapper will give you any kind of --- - -_answer-if- he-thoug Cecil Kennedy - Predation is one of the phases in bighorn sheep management that we entered into blindly but it has apparently shown a little effect on our area (San Anreas Refuge). We applied this tool of management to it immediately when we tried to save a vanishing species of our North American fauna. I have no proof there that predators were detrimental but we had very few sheep there when we applied the predator program and we have the sheep there now. Dale - You said something about standard ways of getting information. I don't: like to see a man who starts out as you here or Welles started out, be tied to standards. When you have to figure your own ways, then you can come up with ways that no one else has thought of. This is sort of a precaution, lets not try to get our standards until we are pretty well advanced in our research on the bighorn.

Deming - I think that Norm (Simmons) can settle the question on predation on bighorn sheep by modifying his statement from we don't know, to 2 don't know. Simmons - On this standarization I clidn' t mean to imply that a person's hands would be tied by a standard form. For example, Dr. Hansen is working on some aspects of the ecology and behavior of the bighorn that I am interested in and he doesn't know exactly what I am interested in. If we had a minimum requirement for information to be gathered. That is, if he took temperature and humidity, etc. under conditions comparable to my data collection then we can use his information to an advantage. That shouldn't tie him down.

Dale - Just so long as he doesn' t become a technician. Simmons - I agree with that. A NATIONAL WILDLIFE SERVICE FOR MEXICO

Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez Corzo Director General de Caza

Introduction

This is only a brief technical report. It is intended to give a broad general account of the status of wildlife management in Latin America, taking Mexico as an example, and pointing out what we consider to be the main problem for future evolution. It is based on the experience of our experts in the Service, although we do not have many as yet, and on scientific information obtained from others with better preparation in the field.

It is also meant to call attention to the significance of an efficient technically organized wildlife service in regard to the social and economic development of our countries, since it is a branch of public administration. A very important branch, indeed, because it deals with a natural resource at the national level. More advanced countries, particularly the U.S.A. and Canada, have provided us with the examples of their experience and the know-- ledge of their specialists, and now it is a good opportunity to present before you our consideration of the task ahead, because we are planning for the ~ progress of our service, for better preparation of our personnel, and for an expanded collaboration from both the technical and the administrative points of view. -

- -- .-- ---===---- -=- - - -- . --- -. -. ------= The philosophy, general policy and operations necessary for this step ahead are briefly exposed in the following.

The Problem , Wildlife administration is, as a matter of fact, a rather young idea in Latin America, at least in its modern sense. Like other phases of the technical administration of natural resources, there have not been as yet more than a few specialists in the field. Broadly speaking, and we repeat, we are taking Mexico as our point of view, wildlife management has been very frequently reduced to the regulation of the hunting sport;and a rather loose regulation at that. Important as this is, it represents only a special area of activity within a much wider field. To enforce hunting regulations it takes only knowledge and practice for the preparation of the season and bag limits, the instruction and direction of a special police force, and the administrative office to take care of the permits and other official duties.

Wildlife management is much more than that. It deals with a national renewable resource of great biotic, social and economic importance. It deals with something that, according to our constitutional laws, does not belong individually to anybody, but to the country as a whole. It is a national heritage. Thus it is the duty of every citizen to preserve, increase, develop and correctly make use of this wealth, thinking of it as of something with much wider economic and social implications than to provide the means for the satisfaction of a sport, hunting, valuable as this is. We know that the protection qnd rational use of land, water and forests go along with good manage- - ment of wildlife. .

In other words, there is, and it is our duty to see that there will always be wildlife for the hunting sport, and there exists wildlife for many other purposes just as valuable as the sport, and the preservation of it is the main reason for a good wildlife administration. This includes the scenic, cultural, academic and social value of wildlife, as well as its economic and technical importance as an element of the forest and as an irreplacable link in biological equilibria.

Latin America means twenty countris altogether. Mexico and some others like Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, may be considered now in the stage of the "take-off" for social and economic development. In our country, for instance, there Is a strong drive going on towards industrialization, financial and monetary stability, more jobs for more and better prepared people, higher standards of living, expansion of educational facilities, widen- ing of public health activities, urbanization, and so forth. This represents a great and desired technological advance, but at the same time, more pressure on wildlife. It is a transformation of the country, a real 'lpacific revolution" as American politicians like to call it, but we have to see that it also helps and not harms our wildlife, so sensitive to the advancement of human technology.

For this reason we have already learned that this transformation will not render its full benefits, in fact the danger of frustration is always present unless we simultaneously realize some profound changes in our adminstration -- _- ---= techniques-and-policies, par titularly- those--dealing with- natural -resources .- -.- There is certainly a great difference between the management of small and medium size enterprises, and taking care of the complex endeavours that a big and well developed nation implies.

There was a time when we used to think of land, forests and wildlife as something for anybody to appropriate just for the taking. Until abused soils have greatly degraded and several biological species were at the border of extinction. Those days are gone by now. That is, we began to do something for the preservation of our forests until we now have a complete technical and administrative organization at the federal level, the SUBSECRETARIA DE RECURSOS FORESTALES Y DE CAZA, with the category of a State Department. It deals with forest and hunting problems. Fishing belongs in a different Department.

In this way wildlife is beginning to attract national attention in its full meaning. And this is vhy we believe it is time now to prepare for the next step, the transformation of what has been primarily a hunting regulation office into a real NATIONAL WILDLIFE SERVICE. In this way we should be able to match within the SUSECRETARIA the great, and of course, deserved attention that already command forest problems. We are sure that this is a highly important step.

Operations

Several important tasks lie ahead of us. Besides education and diffusion of the new ideas, a part of the job in which many advances have been made, we need technical personnel and specialists in wildlife, we need to study and do research on our species and its peculiar problems, we have to prepare an efficient and illustrated group of wardens, and we also need to establish refuges and sanctuaries for wildlife, and game breeding stations for the progress of the sport, and all that is necessary to actively protect species menaced with extinction.

And this is not all. We have to start as soon as possible on several projects for the restoration of some species which already are in a critical situation in different regions of the country, and we have to work on the modification and betterment of the "habitat" in considerable areas, and on many other specific lines of similar action. We will have to modify even our game laws and regulations, as well as the spriit with which wildlife has to be contemplated by society and protected by social institutions. As a matter of fact our proposal consists of twelve different points as large areas of work.

All this will take, of course, a great deal of study, preparation of personnel, organization and, as is natural, a program of investments. If will not be simple, but we are sure that it will mean, besides the direct benefit for ourselves, a good example for other Latin American countries in the same social stage of development. On the other side, there can be no doubt that you, as fellows with the same interests, will be looking forward for the results of our next endeavour.

Co1laboration

Finally, after this bz'ief exposition of what we think an important problem - -if or--most=of-=our2coun~~ies,-I= wish-to f-inish -w&th-a- f ew-words-ask-ing-=f0s-the tech- - nical collaboration that the specialists in this country will be glad to give. Your knowledge of wildlife problems and wildlife management is greater than ours and so is your experience and resources. Many of you can give us orientation, and several of your institutions can help in the preparation of specialists in the field of wildlife, either as scientists or as administrators. There are also some very concrete aspects in which your contribution could be almost immediate and equally valuable. I refer to the restoration of.species using possible expedients that you may have. And there is also the important contribution for the patrolling of the border and other common frontier problems that we have, like the control of predator species, in which you are already helping.

We are contemplating indeed the possibility of organizing a real program of technical collaboration, with mutual efforts, which could be proposed and discussed in due opportunity.

This time, however, we wanted to advance for you some schematic information about our ideas and plans on the subject, to prepare your minds accordingly. It is merely a communication of our problems and of the way we intend to face them. But we know this is enough to raise your sympathy and desire to contribute to our success. After all communication is an essential step for understanding, and understanding for good will and collaboration, which we know exist. HERNANDEZ mRZO

- (Discussion after presentation of above paper and movie on sheep reconnaissance in Baja, California)

Charles Kennedy - What species were you referring to? Hernandez Corzo - ~i~'game species mainly. Barclay - I think, Dr. Corzo, if you want help from the Fish and Wildlife Service in the States be assured that if you just write in and any of them would be most happy to help. Don't you think so? (Directed to Fish and Wildlife Service personnel from the Washington office).

Answer - Yes, surely! Barclay - On this research, you write to either our regional office or to the Washington office. I know that's the same with the states and also Dr. Wood. Hernandez-Corzo - Yes, thank you! - Wood - Is this a shortage of the personnel available to you or a shortage of the department to put the personnel to work?

Hernandez Corxo - Both of them! We don't have the money to run the department . as we think it should be run but even if we had the money we don't have the-peop le-_trained- in-f ish-and-wildlif e=to-take-the_-Jobs .--Nor=da=;we=-- have good or well prepared men to be wardens. We have a small group but it is not enough. Wood - Is the University of Mexico equipped to have a fish and wildlife program? Hernandez Corzo - They have started to have a program now, but just starting. Goodman - Po you know if they are going to put a road down south on the Gulf side to La Paz? Hernandez:Corzo - There is a road there already but it is in a pretty rough condition. Considering the present status of the bighorn there, perhaps this is a help instead of a hindrance. However, when the road is paved and landing strips that we are working on are accomplished, we will be better able to control poaching, in this area. You know that sheep hunting was prohibited in Mexico over 40 years ago and it is still prohibited. We know that every year from 60 to 75 sheep are taken (poached) and to eliminate discrimination, without getting into a discussion of 3/4 curl, we now have a proposition before our government to put the whole thing under legal aspects. I think we should open a season but a well controlled one. We should charge people accordingly for 60 to 75 permits annually. This would help support our program with wardens and guides. This is a good idea as long as it goes along with the establishment of refuges, like Puertos Condido and perhaps two more places along the peninsula. Larsen - I understand that Starker Leopold's book, 'Wildlife in Mexico" was to be translated into Spanish. Can you tell me more about this.

Hernandez Corzo - Yes! This book has already been translated and is almost ready to go to press. It should be available at the end of this year or perhaps before. B l GHORN BREED ING 0'. V. DEMING, WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT BIOLOGIST BUREAU OF SPORT FlSHERl ES AND Wl LDLlFE LAKEV I EW, OREGON

l NTRODUCT l ON

IT IS DOUBTFUL IF ANY PHASE OF BIGHORN STUDIES HAS BEEN MORE NEGLECTED THAN THAT OF BIGHORN BREEDING. IT IS TRUE THAT WE HAVE ABUNDANT LITERATURE ON BREEDING MANNERISMS SUCH AS THE FIGHTING OF THE RAMS, THEIR AMOROUS PURSUIT OF THE EWES, AND HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR COPULATI ON, BUT LITTLE THOUGHT OR STUDY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO WHY THESE THINGS OCCUR AND THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STIMULI THAT PROMPTS THEM. WE ARE ACCEPTING BIGHORN BREEDING IN MUCH THE SAME FASHION MANY OF US ACCEPT AUTOMOBILES. WE UNDERSTAND HOW TO START THE CAR AND MANEUVER THROUGH TRAFFIC AND COME TO A STOP, BUT WE HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT IS GOING ON UNDER THE HOOD TO MAKE THAT SIMPLE PROCESS OF LOCOMOT l ON POSSI BLE.

BiGHOWN MANAGEMENT SHOULD OEAL WITH AN UNDERSiANOiNG OF CAUSES IF WE ARE TO PROPERLY EVALUATE EFFECTS. A POPULATION INCREASE CANNOT OCCUR WITHOUT LAMBS, AND LAMBS CANNOT OCCUR Wl THOUT BREED I NG. LIKEWI SE, BREED lNG CANNOT TAKE PLACE WITHOUT CERTAIN REACTIONS WITHIN THE ANIMALS PLUS OUTSIDE STIMULI THAT WE DO NOT AT THE PRESENT TIME FULLY UNDERSTAND. ------a=-----= ---- THE SOLE PURPOSE--OF THIS-PAPER--IS TO STIMULATE-THINKIX%-;GON------BlGHORN BREED1NG IN THE HOPES THAT IF WILL SOMEDAY LEAD TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO MANAGEMENT.

MOST OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAPER THAT I AM PRESENT- I NG TODAY HAVE BEEN "LI FTED" FROM ONE OF MY OLD BIGHORN MANUSCRIPTS THAT HAS BEEN GATHERING DUST FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS, AND DUE TO ITS ANTIQUITY MUCH OF THE INFORMATION MAY BE OUTDATED OR OUTMODED. AS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS NOT SO MUCH THAT OF IMPARTING INFORMATION AS IT IS THAT OF STIMULATING THINKING, I AM ASKING THAT YOU WITHHOLD CRITICISM OF MY LACK OF INFORMATION ON WHAT HAS DEVELOPED ON THE SUBJECT SINCE 1953 AND CONCENTRATE ON HOW LITTLE WE DO NOW, COLLECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY, ON THE SUBJECT OF BIGHORN BREEDING.

THE BREEDING SEASON, AS DEFINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THlS PAPER, IS THAT PERIOD OF THE YEAR WHEN MATING BEHAVIOR IS EVIDENT AND COPULATION RESULTS IN FERTILIZATION OF THE OVA. THlS IS THE DEFINITION USED BY BULLOUGH (1951) AND IS USED HERE TO FURTHER STANDARDIZE AN EXPRESSION THAT HAS BEEN USED RATHER LOOSELY IN THE PAST. IT IS NOT USED IN THlS PAPER TO DENOTE SEASONS OF PREGNANCY OR LACTAT l ON AS IS FOUND IN SOME EARLY LITERATURE.

CLARIFICATION IS LIKEWISE NEEDED ON SOME OF THE OTHER DESCRl PTl VE WORDS USED IN A D I SCOURSE ON BREED1 NG, POLYG- AMY I S A WORD THAT HAS A ZOOLOGICAL DEFlNl TION OF "THE HABIT OF MATING WlTH MORE THAN ONE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX." THlS IS SIMILAR, BUT NOT IDENTICAL TO THE MORE POPULAR DEFINITION OF "THE PRACTICE OR CONDITION OF HAVING MORE THAN ONE WIFE AT ONE TIME," PROMISCUITY IS ALSO THE HABIT OF MATING WlTH MORE THAN ONE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX, BUT THlS IS INDISCRIMINATE MATING RATHER THAN OUR POPULAR CONCEPT OF POLYGAMY.

FOR THE PURPOSE OF THlS PAPER, IT IS ASKED THAT POLYG- AMY, AS APPLIED TO BIGHORN SHEEP, BE DEFINED AS THE PRAC- TICE OF THE MALE OF THE SPECIES HOLDING UNDER HIS CONTROL DURING THE BREEDING SEASON FEMALES OF THE SAME SPEC IES FOR BREEDING PURPOSES. PROMISCUOUS BREEDING IS TO BE DEFINED AS THE PRACTICE OF THE MALE OF THE SPECIES HOLDING INDIS- CRlMl NATE SEXUAL UN l ON Wl TH ANY FEMALE OF THE SAME SPEC l ES FOUND READY AND WILLING TO BREED.

THE REPRODUCT l ON CYCLE

THERE HAS BEEN NO COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE REPRODUC- TION CYCLE OF THE B IGHORN SHEEP, ALTHOUGH IT I S OFaPRIME ------A=- -=-a==------IMPORTANCE AS REGARDING-RAM~E~ER~T-I-O-S~-LAMB-PERCENTAGES, AND POPULATION INCREASES. THE REPRODUCTION CYCLE AND ITS SHORTER OESTRUAL CYCLE ARE WORTHY OF FULL TIME STUDY TO FURTHER MANAGEMENT'S NEED OF INFORMATION. IN VIEW OF THE LACK OF THlS INFORMATION, I AM FORCED TO DRAW ON WORK DONE WlTH OTHER MAMMALS, PRIMARILY DOMESTIC SHEEP, IN ORDER TO POINT OUT THE POSSIBLE AVENUES OF STUDY AMONG THE WlLD VARIETY.

THE' REPRODUCTION CYCLE OF ONE YEAR DURATION COVERS THE PERIOD OF BREEDING AND THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF NON- BREEDING. IT IS MORE EVIDENT IN THE EWE SHEEP THAN IN THE RAM, AS THE EWE HAS WELL-DEFINED OESTRUAL PERIODS FOLLOWED BY A PRONOUNCED SEASON OF NON-BREEDING. THE WlLD RAM IS SUSPECTED OF BEING CAPABLE OF SUCCESSFULLY BREEDING ALL MONTHS OF THE YEAR FROM TESTICLE SAMPLES EXAMINED, BUT EARLY SPRl NG AND SUMMER BEHAVl OR IN THE FIELD INDICATES THE POSS l B l L l TY OF AN ANOESTRUS OR NON-BREED1 NG SEASON.

THE TWO MAJOR FACTORS THOUGHT TO CONTROL AND INFLUENCE THE REPRODUCTION CYCLE IS AN INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM AND CHANGES IN OR OF THE ENVIRONMENT. LESSER FACTORS THAT . APPEAR TO AFFECT. THE REPRODUCT ION CYCLE ARE DOMEST l CAT I ON AND CONFINEMENT. EACH WILL BE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED.

-THE INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM. EACH SPECIES IS SUSPECTED OF HAVING AN INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM THAT GOVERNS GENERAL SEASONS OF BREEDING, TH I S RHYTHM SUPPOSEDLY DETERMINES IF THE SPECIES CONCERNED BREEDS ONCE A YEAR OR SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR AND ALSO THE SEASON OF BREEDING. IT IS THOUGHT TO BE A HEREDITARY TRAIT CARRIED ON FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SPECIES.

EVIDENCE THAT WOULD INDICATE THE PRESENCE OF AN INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM IN BIGHORN SHEEP IS MAN1FESTED BY FOUR LAMB- ING DATES OF A NELSON EWE AT THE CORN CREEK SUB-HEADQUARTERS OF THE DESERT GAME RANGE WHILE I WAS STAT1ONED THERE. THI S EWE HAD HER FIRST LAMB ON APRIL 16, 1950. SUCCEEDING LAMB- ING DATES WERE MARCH 20, 1951, MARCH 19, 1952, and MARCH 17, 1953. THE GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FIRST LAMBING DATE AND THE FOLLOWING THREE MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE TYRO RAM OF 17 MONTHS OF AGE hWO PAY WOT HAVE AFFECTED FERT i iiZAii ON TiiE FIRST TIME OR TWO THE EWE WAS IN OESTRUS, WH ICH WOULD ROUGHLY ACCOUNT FOR THE 27 DAY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 1950 AND 1951 LAMBING DATES. WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AT CORN CREEK DURING THE 1950-1954 PERIOD, AN

lNTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM--- SHOULD HAVE - HAD A VERY GOOD MED I UM - -INW-ICHTTMAKEE IT SE LF KNOWN ,

THE CHANGE OF THE INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM OF THE REPRO- DUCTION CYCLE FROM NON-BREEDING TO BREEDING IS THOUGHT TO BE DUE TO THE RELEASE OF TWO SECRETIONS OF THE ANTERIOR PITUITARY WHICH STIMULATE THE GONADS AND ARE THEREFORE KNOWN AS GONADOTROPIC HORMONES. BESIDES PROMOTING THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE FOLLICLES CONTAINING THE EGGS IN THE FEMALE AND CAUSING THE PRODUCTION OF SPERM IN THE MALE, THE HOR- MONES ALSO APPEAR TO CAUSE THE PERIOD OF RUT IN THE MALE AND OESTRUS IN THE FEMALE. IT IS KNOWN THAT ADULT AN IMALS OF SOME SPECIES, WHEN DEPRIVED OF THEIR REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS, WlLL STILL EXPERIENCE THE BREEDING URGE DURING THE BREEDING SEASON, SO IT COULD WELL BE THROUGH THE STIMULATION OF THE HORMONES RELEASED FROM THE P I TUI TARY.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES,

CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH THE INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM ARE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS WHICH APPEAR TO DETERMINE THE PRECISE TlME OF BREEDING. THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IN- FLUENCES APPEAR TO BE STRONGER THAN THE INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED MANY TIMES BY REMOVING ANIMALS FROM ONE HEMISPHERE AND PLACING THEM IN ANOTHER. THE INTER- NAL GONADAL RHYTHM AND THE ENVIRONMENT THAT NORMALLY WORK CLOSE TOGETHER, THEN BECOME DISORGANIZED AND CONFLICT BE- TWEEN THE TWO IS EVIDENT THE FIRST YEAR, BUT THEREAFTER THE ANIMAL USUALLY BECOMES ADJUSTED TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT AND BREEDS AND HAS OFFSPRING AT THE PROPER TlME OF THE YEAR.

A SAMPLE OF SUCH RE-ADJUSTMENT IS FOUND IN TWENTY-ONE AUTUMN-BRED DOMESTIC EWES THAT WERE TRANSPORTED FROM ENGLAND TO CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA LATE IN 1932, WHERE THEY LAMBED IN JANUARY 1933. WHEN THE SOUTHERN AUTUMN STARTED IN MARCH THE EWES AGAl N CAME l NTO BREEDING CONDlTl ON AND THEY WERE MATED IN MAY. THEREAFTER THEY BRED ONLY DURING THE SOUTHERN AUTUMN. A LESS EXTREME EXAMPLE OF TH I S AB I CITY TO ADJUST WAS NOTED IN CALIFORNIA BIGHORN SHEEP (OVI S CANADENSIS CALIFORNIANA) BROUGHT TO THE HART M~AIN NAT l ONAL ANTt LOPE REFUGE I N NOVEMBER, 1954 FROM BR l T l SH COLUMBIA. THE EWES, THAT HAD BEEN BRED IN CANADA, BEGAN LAMBING ON APRIL 10, 1955. IN 1956 THE LAMBING STARTED BE- TWEEN TWO AND THREE WEEKS LATER THAN IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND HAS MAINTAINED THAT LAMBING PATTERN EVER SINCE. AN EXCEPTION, THAT PERHAPS DEMONSTRATES UNUSUAL POTENTIAL POWER IN THE INTERNAL GONADAL RHYTHM, WAS NOTED AMONG SPOTTED DEER BROUGHT FROM INDIA TO ENGLAND, WHERE FOR SEVERAL SEA - --- -THE-Y--PRODUCED-OFF--SPASON-OEESPR I NGS BEFORE BECOMI NG - TO THE CHANGED SEASONS.

LIGHT INTENSITY OR DAY LENGTH ARE ENVIRONMENTAL IN- FLUENCES THOUGH TO EXERT AN INFLUENCE ON THE REPRODUCTION CYCLE, BUT THERE IS MUCH CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE AMONG DIF- FERENT SPECIES. LONGER DAYS ARE THOUGHT TO INFLUENCE SOME SPECIES OF SPRING BREEDERS AND SHORTER DAYS TO INFLUENCE SOME SPECIES OF FALL BREEDERS. THERE ARE STILL OTHER SPECIES THAT CAME INTO BREEDING CONDITIONS IN TOTAL DARK- NESS WHEN TESTED. IT APPEARS THERE IS STILL A LOT OF STUDY TO DO IN REGARDS TO THESE ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES.

DOMEST I CAT I ON.

DOMEST IC AT I ON APPEARS TO I NFLUENCE THE REPRODUCT I VE CYCLE AS WE COMPARE THE BREEDING HABITS OF THE DOMESTIC DOG AND ITS WlLD BRETHERN THE WOLVES AND DINGOS, AND ITS DISTANT RELATIONS THE FOX AND COYOTE. THE DOMESTIC CAT LIKEWISE HAS AN ALTERED REPRODUCTION CYCLE WHEN COMPARED WITH THE WlLD VARIETY. HOUSE MICE ALSO DISPLAY CHANGES FROM THE PATTERN OF MICE OUT-OF-DOORS, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY THE PROTECTION AND FOOD AFFORDED BY MAN. ...

CONFINEMENT.

CAGED OR CONFINED ANIMALS OFTEN DISPLAY ERRATIC REPRO- DUCTION CYCLES AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME SPECIES IN THE WI'LD. DOMESTIC .RABBITS FURN l SH A GOOD EXAMPLE. AND WE CANNOT DlS- A DECADE AGO. AT THE ZOO OVIS CANADENSIS MEXICANA LAMBED IN MARCH, APRIL AND OCTOBER. THE MOUFLON SHE.^ MUSIMON.) LAMBED IN MARCH AND OCTOBER; OVlS CANADENSIS N~NILAMBED IN APRI L, MAY AND JUNE, WH I LEWSCANADENSI s CANADENSI s LAMBED IN FEBRUARY, APRIL AND THE PART THAT CLIMATE MAY HAVE PLAYED IN UPSETTING THEIR DEFINITE BREEDING SEASON AS ESTABLISHED IN THE WlLD IS NOT KNOWN.

THE OESTRUAL CYCLE

THE BREEDING SEASON OF THE BIGHORN SHEEP USUALLY FINDS THE RAMS READY FOR BREEDING BEFORE THE EWES, RAMS LlKEWl SE APPEAR TO HAVE A LONGER PERIOD OF RUT THAN THE EWES AS FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND SPERM TESTS RUN ON WlLD RAM TESTIS I-CAILTHEY-ARE XAPAB LE - OE--SUCCESSEULLY -BREED I NG.-FROM LEAST SEPTEMBER UNTIL APRIL ON THE DESERT RANGES OF SOUTHERN NEVADA.

AS THE BREEDING SEASON REACHES ITS PEAK, THE SEX URGE OF THE RAMS IS ALL-POWERFUL. BUT TESTING DONE WlTH DOMESTIC RAMS SHOW THAT MANY OF THEM-WILL REFUSE TO BREED A EWE THAT IS NOT IN OESTRUS. THE FRENZIED MILLING AND MOUNTING SO COMMON AMONG BIGHORN GATHERED AT WATERHOLES MAY BE PROMPTED BY THE PRESENCE OF ONE OR MORE EWES IN OESTRUS AND TEMPO- RARY HARRASSMENT OF EWES NOT IN OESTRUS CAN OCCUR DURING ' THE EXCITEMENT. BIGHORN RAMS ARE PROMISCUOUS IN THEIR BREEDING HABITS AND WILL MATE WlTH ANY EWE FOUND READY AND WILLING TO BREED. EVEN FEMALES OF OTHER SPECIES. WHEN IN OESTRUS. ARE NOT ENTIRELY IMMUNE TO THE AMOROUS ADVANCES OF OUR'DON JUAN OF THE RIMROCKS. EARLY LITERATURE OFTEN MENTIONS RAMS AND THEIR HAREMS, INDICATING A STATE OF POLYGAMY, AND THIS MAY APPEAR TRUE ON AREAS WHERE THE B lGHORN POPULAT l ON I S SMALL AND BANDS ARE WELL ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER BY WIDE DISTANCES. IN SUCH CASES THERE MAY BE ONLY ONE RAM IN A BAND, OR ONE RAM THAT CAN MAINTAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DOMINANCE OVER THE OTHER FEW RAMS THAT GOES BACK TO A DOMINANCE SlMl LAR TO THE PECK ORDER OF FOWL THAT WAS ESTABLISHED WHILE THE RAMS WERE SUMMERING TOGETHER. THIS WOULD BE THE EXCEPTIONAL CASE AND NOT THE RULE.

BESIDES FERTILIZING THE OVA OF THE EWE WHICH ALLOWED THE GROWTH OF AN EMBRYO, IT APPEARS THAT THE RAM ALSO IN- FLUENCES THE GESTAT l ON PER1OD OF THE EWE THROUGH THE LAMB. STUDIES OF 2,499 GESTATION PERIODS IN DOMESTIC EWES IN IDAHO (TERRILL 1947) SHOWED THAT THERE IS CONSIDERABLY MORE SIMI- LARITY IN THE GESTAT l ON PER1 ODs OF EWES MATED TO THE SAME SIRES THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPECTED BY CHANCE ALONE. IT IS THOUGHT THAT A LARGE PART OF THE SIMILARITY WAS CAUSED BY THE COMMON HERED l TARY FACTORS WH l CH EACH S l RE TRANSM l TTED TO H I S SEVERAL OFFSPRI NG, AND THAT HERED l TARY FACTORS HAVE MUCH MORE INFLUENCE ON LENGTH OF GESTATION THAN ANY OF THE ENV l RONMENTAL FACTORS STUD I ED.

BIGHORN EWES EXPERIENCE A MORE REGULAR, PERIODIC BREED- ING PER1OD THAT SHOWS EVIDENCE OF BE ING CYCLIC, I F THEY ARE LIKE THElR DOMESTlCATED SISTERS. !N DOMESTIC EWES NON- PREGNANT FEMALES WILL COME INTO HEAT FOR AN UNDETERMINED NUMBER OF REGULAR INTERVALS DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. THl S PER1OD OF HEAT, OR OESTRUS, WHERE THE EWE I S RECEPTl VE TO THE RAM AND CAPABLE OF FERT ILlZATlON IS THE PEAK OF THE OESTRUAL CYCLE.

IT IS CONTENDED THAT THE OESTRUAL CYCLE OF FEMALE ANI- MALS IS STIMULATED AND STARTED BY AC.TIVE SECRETIONS OF THE P I TUI TARY. ONE SECRET I ON, THE FOLL I CLE-STI MULAT I NG HORMONE, STIMULATES IMMATURE ANIMALS APPROACHING THE AGE OF PUBERTY AND THOSE THAT ARE IN ANOESTRUS, OR NON-BREEDING CONDITIONS. IT ACTS ON THE GERM1 NAL EPITHELIUM OF THE RAMS TO PROMOTE SPERM- PRODUCTION, AND IN THE EWE CAUSES THE RAP ID GROWTH OF THE FOLLICLES CONTAINING THE EGGS. THE SECOND HORMONE, KNOWN AS THE LUTElNlZlNG HORMONE, HAS THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF STIMULATING THE LUTElNlZATlON OF THE OLD FOLLICLE CELL TO FORM THE CORPUS LUTEUM AFTER OVULATION. IT IS ALSO SAID TO STIMULATE THE GROWTH AND FUNCTION OF THE NON-GERMINAL INTERSTITUAL TISSUE IN BOTH OVARIES AND TESTES.

THE OBESTRUAL CYCLE OF THE DOMESTIC EWE AVERAGES 16 DAYS DURATION WlTH A RANGE OF FROM 14 TO 20 DAYS. THE LENGTH OF OESTRUS AVERAGES 30 HOURS WlTH A RANGE OF 20 TO 42 HOURS. THE USUAL TIME OF OVULATION IS ONE HOUR BEFORE THE END OF OESTRUS. FEMALES THAT EXPERIENCE MORE THAN ONE PERIOD OR OESTRUS A YEAR ARE CALLED POLYOESTRUS. FROM THE EVIDENCE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO'GATHER, IT AP- PEARS POSSIBLE THAT THE WILD EWE HAS A VERY LIMITED TIME WHEN SHE CAN BE "BEGOT WITH CHI LD" DURl NG THE OESTRUAL CYCLE. THE ACTUAL TlME INVOLVED WlLL REMAIN UNCERTAIN UNTIL WE HAVE INFORMATION ON HOW LONG THE SPERM OF THE RAM WlLL RE- MAIN ACT IVE ENOUGH IN THE VAG INA OF THE EWE TO AFFECT PENE- TRATI ON AND FERT l LIZAT ION OF THE OVA WHEN IT 1's RELEASED. IN DOMESTIC SHEEP IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT THE BREEDING URGE OF RAMS WlLL ASSIST IN BRINGING A EWE INTO OESTRUS, AND RANCHERS OFTEN USE A "TEASER RAM" TO EXCITE THE EWE AND HAS- TEN THE PERIOD ,OF HEAT BEFORE BREEDING THE EWE TO THE RAM OF THEIR CHOICE. THE ACTIVITIES OF RAMS AROUND THE EWES IN THE WILDS MAY BE MORE BENEFICIAL THAN DETRIMENTAL,

DOMESTIC EWES IN OESTRUS READILY ACCEPT SERVICE FROM A RAM OR RAMS, AND A EWE BEING BRED BY SEVERAL RAMS IS NOT UN- USUAL, AND IN THE CASE OF LOW-FERTILITY RAMS, IS HIGHLY BEN- EFICIAL, THE WILLINGNESS OF EWES TO BREED WHEN IN OESTRUS WAS DEMONSTRATED BY A NELSON BIGHORN EWE ON THE SHEEP RANGE THAT LIFTED HER TAIL TO FACILITATE'BREEDING WHEN MOUNTED BY A RP.M. P!?OBABIY THROUGH THE ST-IMULAT ION OF THE LUTE lbl!Z!NG HORMONE THAT STARTS THE MACHINERY OF PREGNANCY IN MOTION, IT IS ONLY A SHORT TlME AFTER THE FERTILIZATION OF THE OVA WHEN THE EWE LOSES INTEREST IN BREEDING AND WlLL NOT ACCEPT SER- VICE.

MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM BREEDING AGES TERRl LL (1 938) DID CONSIDERABLE EXPERIMENTAL BREED1 NG Wl TH E'I GHT MONTHS OLD DOMEST lC RAM LAMBS IN IDAHO AND OB- TAlNED A FERT I CITY FlGURE OF 81%. DR. CHARLES HANSEN SENT ME INFORMATION CONCERNING THE BREEDING OF A RAM LAMB AND A MATURE EWE AT CORN CREEK THAT RESULTED IN A LAMB BORN ON JUNE 13, 1961. THIS RAM LAMB WAS THE ONLY RAM WlTH THE EWE DURING THE BREEDING PERIOD, AND DR. HANSEN CONCLUDED THAT WlTH A GESTATION PERIOD OF 173 DAYS THE RAM LAMB WAS ONLY SIX MONTHS OLD AT THE TIME OF CONCEPTION. ANY OTHER CALCU- LATIONS, SUCH AS THE RAM LAMB MAKING EARLY OR LATE SERVICE WOULD RESULT IN A GESTATION PERIOD OF EITHER SEVEN MONTHS OR FIVE MONTHS.

THE PATRIARCH OF THE DESERT GAME RANGE PENNED BIGHORN IS OLD JOE, WHO SERVED HIS FIRST EWE AT 17 MONTHS OF AGE AND IN 1958 SIRED STILL ANOTHER OFFSPRING AT THE RIPE-OLD AGE OF ELEVEN. OLD JOE WAS THEN RET IRED TO THE "BUCK PASTURE", BUT IN 1961 WAS ATTEMPTING COPULATION WlTH A YEARLING RAM. ABOUT ALL WE CAN CONCLUDE FROM HIS 1961 EFFORTS IS THAT AT THE AGE OF 14 HIS PITUITARY WAS STILL FUNCTIONING.

ALSO AT DESERT GAME RANGE WE HAVE A RECORD OF A NELSON EWE BEING SUCCESSFULLY BRED AT 17 MONTHS, ALTHOUGH HER LAMB WAS TOO LARGE FOR HER TO DROP AND SHE DIED DURING PARTURI - TION. THERE IS AN UNCONFIRMED MONTANA REPORT OF A BIGHORN EWE THAT GAVE BiRTH TO A LAMB AT 17 YEARS OF AGE. IN GEN- ERAL, THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES REACHES PUBERTY AND THE MINIMUM 'BREEDING AGE SOONER THAN THE MALE, BUT HOW APPLIC- ABLE THIS IS TO OUR BIGHORN SHEEP I S NOT KNOWN.

REPRODUCTION MAY BE RETARDED AT BOTH ENDS OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF BIGHORN, AS IS INDICATED BY THE 81% FERTl LlTY OF 8 MONTHS OLD DOMEST lC RAMS COMPARED WlTH 93% AMONG THE ADULT ONES. ALSO, AS NO WILD ANIMAL 1 S KNOWN TO HAVE AN ESTABLISHED MENOPHASE, OR CESSATION OF OVERAIN FUNCTION, BlGHORN EWES CAN BE EXPECTED TO DECREASE IN FERTl LlTY AS THEY GROW OLDER, BUT CAPABLE OF WEF'ROYJCTION TO SOME EX- TENT DURING THEIR DECLINING YEARS.

BREEDING BETWEEN SPECIES -

------WE-HXVE-~CCONS-I-DERABLE-EVI-DENCE--THAT--MEMBERS- OF-THE -SHEEP------= FAMILY CAN CROSS BREED WlTH EACH OTHER AND THAT THE OFF- SPRING ARE FERTILE AND CAN LIKEWISE REPRODUCE.. PULLING (1945A) RECORDED THE UN l ON OF A NELSON BlGHORN RAM AND A DOMESTIC EWE THAT RESULTED IN TWIN DAUGHTERS. THESE DAUGH- TERS WERE THEN BRED TO THE RAM THAT SIRED THEM AND THEY IN TURN PRODUCED LAMBS. AN ARTICLE IN THE CALIFORNIA WOOL GROWER, NOVEMBER 5, 1935 RELATED OF A DOMESTIC EWE ON THE CHARLES J. BELDEN RANCH AT PITCHFORK, WYOMING, GIVING BIRTH TO A LAMB THAT WAS PROBABLY SIRED BY A ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN RAM. DESERT MAGAZl NE (SEPT. 1949) CONTAl NED AN ART ICLE PER- TAINING TO SEVEN DOMESTIC EWES IN THE HERD OF PETE ELiAS OF AUSTIN, NEVADA THAT DROPPED LAMBS SIRED BY A WILD RAM ON WINTER RANGE IN THE NEW PASS AREA.

BREEDING EXPERIMENTS AT THE SAN DlEGO ZOO A DECADE OR MORE AGO DEMONSTRATED THAT CROSS BREEDING BETWEEN DIFFERENT SPECIES OF THE Wl LD SHEEP ALSO PRODUCED FERT l LE OFFSPRING. AT THE ZOO THE MOUFLON SHEEP WAS SUCCESSFULLY CROSSED WlTH PEN I NSULA. NELSON. AND ROCKY MOUNTA l N B I GHORN AND THE -RESULT- FEMALE OF ANOTHER GENUS THAT IS IN OESTRUS IS NOT UNCOMMON, AND A NUMBER OF RECORDS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED BY MYSELF AND OTHERS !IF BIGHORN RAMS ATTEMPTING COPULATION WlTH FEMALE BURROS, HEIFERS, COWS, AND EVEN WlTH EACH OTHER. A MALE BEAR AT ONE OF THE NATIONAL PARKS CLASPED AN UNWARY WOMAN

' IN THE LOVE EMBRACE 'WHEN SHE VENTURED TOO CLOSE AT THE WRONG TIME OF THE MONTH.

IN REGARDS TO THE INTRODUCTION OF EXOTIC SPECIES IN OR NEAR HABITAT, OF CLOSELY RELATED NATIVE SPECIES, I WOULD LIKE TO QUOTE FROM BURNS (1953) WHO HAS THE FOLLOWING TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT OF HYBRIDIZATION. "HYBRIDS RESULT I NG FROM CROSSBREED IN G MAY BE PHYS I - CALLY STRONGER INDIVIDUALS, AS IS SOMETIMES THE CASE WlTH A MULE, BUT THEIR FERTILITY IS USUALLY REDUCED, AND MANY TIMES THE OFFSPRING IS NOT AS VIGOROUS AS ITS PARENTS. WERE MAM- MALS TO ENGAGE IN SUCH CROSS-COPULATION, IT IS QUITE LIKELY THAT RACES WOULD SOON BE EXTERMINATED, AS HAS ALREADY HAP- PENED WERE MAMMALS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED INTO AREAS WHICH CONTAIN CLOSELY RELATED SPEC I ES. FOR EXAMPLE, AS A RESULT OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THE AMERICAN BISON INTO EUROPEAN RE- - SERVES, THE PURE STRAIN OF-THE EUROPEAN WISENT HAS NEARLY BEEN LOST. THE TRAMSPLAMTATIQM OF RED DEER FROM SOUTHERN EUROPE INTO NORWAY RESULTED IN THE EXTERMI NAT ION OF A NATIVE RACE, FOLLOWING HYBRIDIZATION. AS RECENTLY AS 1910 THE IBEX -- - =WA-S-RE-..;I-N=T=RODUCFD- I NTO-THE-CARPA-TH-I AN -MOUNTA I NS-OF-GENTRAL- EUROPE, TOGETHER WITH TWO ASIATIC SPECIES, THE BEZOAR GOAT AND SlNAlTIC GOAT. ALL THREE SPECIES INTERBRED WlTH THE RE- SULT THAT THE BREEDING SEASON CHANGED SO THAT THE YOUNG WERE BORN IN MIDWINTER, AND THE OFFSPRING PERISHED YEAR AFTER YEAR. A YET MORE DISASTROUS RESULT HAPPENED WITH THE LARGER SIBERIAN RACE OF ROEBUCK, WHICH WAS INTRODUCED INTO CZECHOSLOVAKIA, WHERE IT INTERBRED WITH THE NATIVE SUB- SPECIES. THE LARGER SIZE OF THE FETUS IN THE NATIVE DOE MADE BIRTH IMPOSSIBLE. THEREBY WIPING OUT NOT ONLY THE YOUNG, BUT ALSO THE NATIVE FEMALES AND DEMONSTRATED HOW EASILY A RACE CAN BE EXTERMINATED BY THE VERY MEANS WHICH l NSURE ITS EX I STENCE."

STERl LlTY

JUST AS I BYPASSED WORD-BY-WORD DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF B l GHORN BREED1 NG, AS LITERATURE ABOUNDS WITH GRAPHIC EXAMPLES OF RAM AND EWE BEHAVIOR DURING- THE RUT, I AM NOW GOING TO ELABORATE AS MUCH AS I POSSIBLY CAN ON SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INFLUENCE STER- l L ITY IN BlGHORN SHEEP, BECAUSE THERE I S SO LlTTLE WRIT- TEN ON THE SUBJECT AND THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WE NEED TO

TEMPORARY STERI LITY.

TEMPORARY STERILITY AMONG EWES AND RAMS IS A NORMAL SITUATION AMONG DOMESTIC SHEEP, AND UNTIL WE KNOW MORE ABOUT IT IN THE WlLD VARIETY, IT SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERA- TION WHEN EVALUATING LAMB PRODUCTION IN THE WILDS. FROM BREEDING EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED AT THE WESTERN SHEEP BREED- ING LABORATORY AT DUBOIS, IDAHO, IT WAS FOUND THAT OVER A TEN YEAR PER1 OD ONLY 85% OF THE RANGE EWES BECAME PREGNANT THROUGH NATURAL SERVICE. AND THAT INDIVIDUAL RAMS AND EWES EXPERIENCED- AN . OCCASI ONAL YEAR OF STER IL IT Y PRECEEDED AND FOLLOWED BY YEARS OF FERTILITY (TERRILL 1940, TERRILL & HAZEL 1947).

IF THE ABOVE I S ALSO TRUE OF THE WlLD SHEEP, LAMBING ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE OVER MOST OF THE PAST F l FTEEN YEARS HAS BEEN CLOSE TO THE MAXIMUM THAT CAN BE EXPECTED UNDER RANGE CONDITIONS, AND ALTHOUGH 100 LAMBS TO 100 BREED- ING EWES IS THE REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL, THE MANAGEMENT POTENTTAL, OR WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TO WORK WITH, I S CLOSER TO 80 LAMBS TO 100 BREED ING EWES. ORTHODOX LAMB-EWE RATIOS, ------THA=T=I-NGLUDE-EWES-. BELOW--THE-AGE--OF--PUBERT-Y AND-OTHER- N0N.r .-;.. - - _- _- BREEDING EWES, WOULD BE EVEN LOWER THAN THE MANAGEMENT PO- TENTIAL. VIEWED IN THIS LIGHT, SOME OF OUR LAMB-EWE RATIOS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ARE NOT AS POOR AS THEY MIGHT SEEM AT FIRST GLANCE.

-AGE CLASS STERILITY. STERILITY IN.THE AGE CLASSES OF DOMESTIC RAMS IS COM- PARATIVELY HIGH AT PUBERTY, DECREASES DURING MATURITY AND INCREASES AGAIN AT THE APPROACH OF OLD AGE. AS HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, BREEDING TESTS OF RAM- LAMBS IN IDAHO SHOWED 81% FERTILITY COMPARED WlTH 93% FOR MATURE RAMS. I HAVE NO INFORMATION ON FERTILITY OF EWES AT PUBERTY, BUT STERILITY CAN BE CONSIDERED TO INCREASE WlTH AGE DUE TO FAC- TORS, SUCH AS LOSS OF TEETH, THAT WOULD INFLUENCE THE HEALTH AND POSSl BLE FERT l LlTY OF THE EWE.

TEMPERATURE. IT I S KNOWN THAT H l GH TEMPERATURES ARE ASSOCIATED Wl TH THE DEGENERATION OF THE GERMINAL EPITHELIUM OF THE TESTIS AND THAT RECOVERY MAY TAKE WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS. SPERM IS EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TO HEAT, AND MAMMALS WITH SCROTEMS CAN ELABORATE FERTl LE SEMEN ONLY WHEN THE lR TESTICLES ARE AT A LOWER TEMPERATURE THAN THE INTERIOR OF THEIR BODIES. WE MIGHT WONDER WHAT EFFECT TEMPERATURE HAS ON BREEDING AND LAMB PRODUCTION IN DEATH VALLEY AND OTHER AREAS THAT EXPER- IENCE HIGH TEMPERATURES DURING THE BREEDING SEASON AND LOW LAMB PRODUCTION IN THE SPRING.

THE EFFECT OF HIGH DAYLIGHT TEMPERATURES CAN BE OFFSET TO A DEGREE IF TEMPERATURES DROP CONSIDERABLY DURING THE NIGHT. SOME SPECIES OF MALES RETIRE TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS FOR A P-ERlOD OF T IME TO RECOVER FROM THE EFFECTS OF HEAT AT LOWER ELEVATIONS BEFORE RESUMING BREEDING, AND THE ELK IS KNOWN TO WALLOW IN COOL MUD THAT REVITALIZES ENERGY AND RE- STORES THE PROPER TEMPERATURE TO AFFECT SPERM PRODUCTION. COLD TEMPERATURES HAVE THE SAME DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON LIVE SPERM PRODUCTION, AND MAY AFFECT B6RIAL RACES OF RAMS, AL- THOUGH THE RAMS, BY MUSCULAR CONTRACTION OF THE SCROTUM ARE ABLE TO MOVE THE TEST!S CLOSER TO BODY HEAT.

OVERBREED D NG.

TEMPORARY STERI LI TY FROM OVERBREED I NG HAS BEEN ADVANCED ------FROM=TaI-ME=-TO -T I ME A S--A-PROBAB tE--CAU SE -OF- -L-OW-P RODUCT-I-0 BIGHORN SHEEP: ON THE DESERT THlS OVERBREEDING POSSIB WAS ATTRIBUTED TO WEATHER AND FOOD COND I.TIONS THAT LIM THE NUMBER OF EWES COMING IN OESTRUS AT ONE TIME, AND THE IN- CREASED ATTENTION THESE INDIVIDUAL EWES RECEIVED FROM THE LUSTY RAMS.

TEMPORARY STERILITY WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WIDE- SPREAD AMONG THE EWES ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE IN 1944. HOWEVER, SINCE THAT DATE, NO EVlDENCE OF STERl LlTY TO ANY MARKED DEGREE AMONG THE EWES HAS BEEN OBSERVED, AND THlS HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIATED BY THE HEALTHY LAMB PRODUCTION FIG- URES FROM YEAR TO YEAR OBTAINED FROM LAMBING CENSUSES. NO LAMB l NG CENSUS WAS CONDUCTED IN 1944. - DURING THE SAME 17 YEAR PER1 OD OF OBSERVATION, THE LAMBING SEASON OF THE NELSON BlGHORN ON THE REFUGE AVERAGED 34 MONTHS DURATION. WHICH I S PRESENTED FOOD, WATER, AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS s IMI LAR TO THOSE OF 1944.

OTHER EVIDENCE THAT SUCH STERILITY DOES NOT OCCUR ON THE REFUGE INCLUDES THE FACT THAT THE BIGHORN EWE IS ENDOWED BY NATURE WITH A TAlL LONG ENOUGH TO COVER THE EXTERNAL GENITALS AND THlS TAlL IS MUSCULAR TO THE EXTENT THAT CON- SIDERABLE PRESSURE MUST BE USED TO FORCE THE TAlL AWAY FROM THE EXTERNAL GENITAL ORGANS. ANY ATTEMPT TO FORCE THE TAlL AWAY FROM THE GENITALS WlTH A FINGER WILL SOON CONVINCE THE MOST SKEPTICAL PERSON THAT RAPE DOES NOT OCCUR AMONG B IGHORN SHEEP AND A EWE I S BRED ONLY WHEN SHE SO DESIRES.

OVERBREED lNG AND SUBSEQUENT STER I LITY, TO OCCUR, MUST TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE LIMITED PERIOD OF OESTRUS WHEN THE EWE IS RECEPT l VE TO THE OPPOSITE SEX. REGARDING THE HYPO- THETICAL "OVER-WORKED EWE", WE MUST NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE CAPACITY OF THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES UNDER STRESS. TEST- I NG SHOWED THAT FEMALE DOMESTIC SHEEP KEPT IN OESTRUS BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF HORMONES, OUTLASTED AND WORE OUT SEV- ERAL RAMS... THIS IN THE FACE OF EVIDENCE SHOWING THAT ONE RAM WAS KNOWN TO MOUNT 114 EWES IN ONE NIGHT, AS ATTESTED BY WET PAINT ON HIS BRISKET BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE BACK OF THE EWES. HOWEVER, THERE IS MANY A SLIP T'WIXT THE CUP AND THE LIP, AND MOUNTING ISN'T NECESSARILY MATING. IN A PERSONAL LETTER TO ME, DR. CLAlR E. TERRILL, THEN AT THE U. S. SHEEP EXPERIMENT STATION AND WESTERN SHEEP BREEDING LABORATORY, WROTE THE FOLLOWING CONCERNING THE POS- - SlBlLlTY OF TEMPORARY STERILITY FROM OVERBREEDING AMONG D0-

- ______=;MES_T=I_CaSHEEP=;,--;= ------=- -

"WE HAVE NO EXPERIMENTAL PROFF, BUT WOULD DOUBT IF STERl LlTY FROM OVERBREEDING WOULD EVER OCCUR. IN MY OP lNlON OVERBREED I NG -SHOULD INCREASE FERT I L I TY, BUT THERE I S A RE- PORT THAT TOO MANY SPERM IN THE FALLOPIAN TUBES MIGHT IN- TERFERE WITH FERTILIZATION. THlS I S BASED ON THE OBSERVA- TION THAT SOME DETERIORATING EGGS WERE PENETRATED BY MORE THAN ONE SPERM. THE ENTRANCE OF MORE THAN ONE SPERM MIGHT BE THE RESULT OF A DETERIORATING EGG RATHER THAN THE CAUSE. THERE ARE SOME REPORTS OF RUSSIAN WORK THAT BREEDING OF EWES BY MORE THAN ONE RAM INCREASES FERTILITY AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE. STERILITY -FROM GLANDULAR DISTURBANCES. WE MUST NOT OVERLOOD THE POSSI BI LlTY OF SOME STERILITY IN BOTH SEXES BEING ACTIVATED BY ABNORMAL COND ITl ONS ARI S- ING IN THE PITUITARY THAT RETARDS OR STOPS THE SECRETION OF THE ESSENTIAL HORMONES CONNECTED WlTH REPRODUCTION. - THE FOLL I CLE-ST IMULAT I NG HORMONE AND THE LUTE l N l Z ING HORMONE WORK TOGETHER IN CERTAIN P-ROPORTI ONS TO PROMOTE THE FUNCTION OF REPRODUCT I ON. LABORATORY TEST 1 NG HAS ASCERTA l NED THAT - THE ONE -HORMONE IS DEPENDENT ON THE OTHER TO BR-ING ABOUT THE CONDITIONS WHERE PREGNANCY CAN OCCUR,

STERILITY -FROM DISEASE. WE HAVE YET BUT LITTLE INFORMATION IN REGARDS TO STER- l LlZATlON THROUGH DISEASE IN BIGHORN SHEEP, MY LONE EXAMPLE IS A EWE I COLLECTED ON THE SHEEP RANGE THAT HAD DIED FROM MALIGNANT OVARIAN CANCER. IN THl S EWE THE INTERNAL REPRO- DUCTIVE ORGANS HAD BEEN ABSORBED BY THE CANCER AND FROM THERE IT HAD SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY FROM THE BLADDER TO THE LUNGS, DR. E. R. QUORTRUP OF THE SAN DlEGO LIVESTOCK DEPARTMENT, WHO CONDUCTED THE LABORATORY WORK, CALLED TH l S EWE A frPATHOLOGICAL GOLD MINE" AND STATED THAT, TO THE BEST OF HIS KNOWLEDGE, THlS WAS THE FIRST RECORD OF ADEN0 CARCINOMA IN BIGHORN SHEEP, IT IS POSSIBLE WE STILL HAVE -OTHER rrFIRSTS" THAT REMAIN TO BE DISCOVERED.

THE RAM-EWE RATIO

WlTH THE DESERT FORMS OF BlGHORN SHEEP THE CRlT ICAL FACTOR OF THE BREEDING SEASON IS NOT THE MAXIMUM POTENCY

------_QF=IH E --RAM S&R_-HOW -M-NY-_EWES-THE_Y-ARE_-CAPABL EL0L!EERLLJLLZ_LNG, - - BUT. THE.AVAILABILITY OF THE EWES. DURING THE SHORT PERIOD OF OESTRUS IT IS IMPORTANT-T~THEEWES BE WHERE THE RAMS CAN FlND THEM, AS THERE IS NO FlELD INDICATION ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE THAT THE EWES MAKE ANY EFFORT TO FlND THE RAMS WHEN THEY ARE READY FOR BREEDING OR THAT THE RAMS MA1 NTAl N HAREMS AND SERVE THE EWES AS THEY COME INTO OESTRUS. WE MUST NOT OVERLOOK, HOWEVER, THE POSSIBLE POTENCY OF SCENT GIVEN OFF BY THE EWES IN OESTRUS, AS FIELD EVIDENCE INDI- CATES THAT SUCH SCENT MIGHT ACT AS A GREEN LlGHT TO A RAM A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE AWAY AND DOWNWIND FROM THE EWE. A BREAKDOWN OF OBSERVATIONS OF BIGHORN ON THE REFUGE FROM 1946 TO 1953 AND TOTALING OVER 8,000 INDIVIDUAL ANIMALS SHOWED THAT THE SEX RAT I0 WAS WlTH IN ONE PERCENT OF BEING EQUAL. THE LAMB PERCENTAGES DURl NG THOSE SAME YEARS REMAl NED CON- SlSTENTLY H 1 GHER THAN PERCENTAGES RECORDED ON OUTS l DE AREAS AND IN OTHER STATES WHERE BIGHORN SHEEP ARE LIMITED IN NUMBER OR WHERE FIELD COUNTS SHOWED A PREDOMINANCE OF EWES.

IN ADDITION TO THlS APPARENT EQUAL SEX RATIO THE BANDS WERE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER WHICH ALLOWS THE RAMS CLOSE CONTACT WlTH THE EWE BANDS AND ELIMINATED TO A MARKED DEGREE THE POSSIBILITY OF EWES BEING BARREN FROM LACK OF IN- SEMINATION. IN AREAS WHERE SMALL, REMNANT BANDS ARE WIDELY SCATTERED AND COMPARATIVELY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE SEX RATIO NEEDED IS UNBALANCED AND IT IS UNWISE TO ASSUME THAT THERE IS PRESENT IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA ENOUGH UNSEEN ANIMALS OF BOTH SEXES TO BALANCE THE RATIO OF THE ANIMALS THAT WERE SEEN. THAT THE SEX RATIO OF THE LAMBS DROPPED OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS BY AN INDIVIDUAL EWE IS NOT ALWAYS EQUAL I S SHOWN BY TWO EWES THAT WERE CAPTURED ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE WHEN THEY WERE LAMBS. ONE EWE REMAINED AT THE CORN CREEK HEADQUARTERS AND IN FOUR YEARS GAVE BIRTH TO THREE EWE LAMBS AND ONE RAM LAMB. THE OTHER EWE GREW TO MATURITY AT THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SAN DIEGO AND GAVE B lRTH TO THREE RAM LAMBS. BIGHORN SHEEP IN SMALL l SOLATED BANDS ARE NOT THE BEST MEDIUM FOR OBTAINING EQUAL SEX RATIOS.AMONG THE INDIVIDUAL BANDS AND EVEN THOUGH THE CENSUS OF AN ENTIRE STATE SHOWS AN EQUAL SEX RATIO THIS INFORMATION IS NOT APPLICABLE TO MANAGEMENT PLANNING UNLESS THE INDIVI- DUAL BANDS OR HERDS ARE IN OCCASIONAL CONTACT WlTH EACH OTHER OR IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER SO THAT THE RAMS CAN TRAVEL FROM BAND TO BAND DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. IF AN OBSERVER FEELS HE HAS A SURPLUS OF RAMS IN ONE ISOLATED AREA HE SHOULD CERTAIN THAT THERE !S NOT A SURPLUS OF EWES IN SOME OTHER I SOLATED AREA TO WHICH THE RAMS COULD BE TRANSPLANTED TO ADVANTAGE BEFORE DECLARING THE RAMS SURPLUS AND SUBJECT TO HARVEST.

DURING THOSE SUMMERS THAT THE BIGHORN SHEEP ARE WATER- - I-NG-I-N-NUMBERS--[ T--13--POSS I BCE- FOR-A-REDUCED- NUMBER- OFFRAMS - TO CARE FOR MOST OF THE EWES WA IT1NG AROUND THE WATERHOLES. THIS WOULD NECESSITATE THE RAMS BEING DIVIDED SO THAT SUF- FICIENT RAMS REMAINED AT EACH WATERHOLE USED BY EWE BANDS TO CARE FOR THE EWES. IT IS DOUBTFUL IF RAMS WILL COOPERATE WlTH MANAGEMENT TO THAT EXTENT, AND EVEN THEN SOME EWES MAY NOT BECOME PREGNANT UNLESS A VISIT TO A WATERHOLE TAKES PLACE DURING HER SHORT PERIOD OF OESTRUS. BIGHORN SHEEP, EVEN IN THE EXTREME HEAT OF THE SUMMER, ARE KNOWN TO REMAIN AWAY FROM WATER FOR PERIODS OF TIME THAT ARE OF LONGER DURA- TION THAN THE OESTRUS PERIOD. IT IS LIKEWISE TRUE {THAT THE BREED lNG SEASON OF THE SOUTHWESTERN B l GHORN SHEEP EXTENDS PAST THE HEAT OF THE SUMMER, AND THE WAIT ING RAMS AT THE WATERHOLES WOULD BE OF LITTLE VALUE TO EWES THAT WERE ROAM- ING WIDELY AND MEETING WATER REQUIREMENTS FROM THE SUCCULENT PLANTS THAT FOLLOWED THE SUMMER RAINS. AT SUCH TIMES IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE SUFFICIENT RAMS TO COMB THE COUNTRY AND SEEK OUT THOSE EWES THAT ARE READY FOR BREEDING.

WILLIAM M. RUSH IS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT ONE RAM TO FIVE OR TEN EWES IS ABOUT RIGHT FOR BREEDING. IT MUST NOT BE OVERLOOKED THAT MR. RUSH WAS SPEAKING OF THE ROCKY MOUNT- AIN BIGHORN SHEEP WlTH A BREEDING SEASON DURING THE WINTER WHEN THE ANIMALS ARE CONCENTRATED ON WINTER RANGE. UNDER SUCH CONDI-TIONS IT IS UNDOUBTEDLY TRUE THAT AN EQUAL. SEX RATIO IS NOT NECESSARY. ON THE SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS WHERE VA1:IABLE CLIMATIC CONDlTl ONS AND FOOD CONDIT IONS PREVAI L DUR.ING THE BREED ING SEASON THE -SEX .RAT 10, TO ASSURE MAXIMUM LAMB.PRODUCTIVITY, MUST BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF RAMS NECESSARY TO SERVE A-HIGH PERCENT OF THE EWES DURING TIMES WHEN THE EWES ARE MOST SCATTERED.

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSSl BlLl TY OF LOW-FERTILITY RAMS IN LOW PRODUCTION AREAS AND THE POS- SIBLE NEED OF A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF RAMS IN THE HERDS TO INSURE THAT A EWE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CONCEPTION BY MAT- ING WITH SEVERAL RAMS.

AT THE PRESENT TIME NOT ENOUGH.EVIDENCE HAS BEEN COL- LECTED TO ESTABCISH A SEX RATIO FOR THE DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP THAT WILL ASSURE CONT lNUAL H IGH PRODUCT l VlTY I N THE HERDS AND FURN l SH SURPLUS AN IMALS FOR HARVEST I NG. PERHAPS THE ONLY ANSWER TO TH lS QUEST ION LIES IN A LARGE, CONTROLLED AND ISOLATED STUDY AREA WHERE BREEDING CAN BE OBSERVED OVER A LONG PERIOQ OF T!ME AND THE %AM POPULATlON CAN BE SYSTEN- AT1CALLY LOWERED UNT IL THERE IS A CORRESPONDING DROP IN THE LAMBING PERCENTAGES. SUCH AN AREA DOES NOT EXIST ON THE DESERT GAME RANGE DUE TO THE INTERMlNGLING OF THE BANDS WHICH WOULD ALLOW OTHER RAMS TO REPLACE THOSE REMOVED FOR STUDY PURPOSES.

THE BREEDING SEASON

THERE IS CONSIDERABLE VARIATION AMONG BREEDING SEASONS OF BIGHORN SHEEP OF DIFFERENT SUB-SPECIES, AND EVEN WITHIN THE SUB-SPECIES IN DIFFERENT BIOTIC COMMUNITIES. FIGURE 1 SHOWS SOME OF THE VARIATIONS IN BREEDING AND LAMBING SEASONS BETWEEN SUB-SPECIES OF BIGHORN SHEEP FROM ARIZONA TO MONTANA. THl S FlGURE WAS COMP ILED IN 1954 FROM INFORMAT l ON AVA 1 LABLE TO ME AT THAT TIME, AND COULD PERHAPS BE GREATLY IMPROVED BY THE ADDITION OF INFORMATION THAT HAS BECOME AVAILABLE DURING THE PAST NINE YEARS.

WITH THE EXCEPTlON OF THE HART MOUNTAIN RECORD, WHICH WAS BASED ON ONLY ONE YEAR OF OBSERVATION, THE BREEDING AND LAMBING SEASONS WERE ESTABLI SHED FROM. CONS I DERABLE I NFORMA- TION, WHICH IN CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA EXTENDED OVER THE BET- TER PART OF A DECADE. TO BE BRIEF, THE FLGURE SHOWS THAT IN GENERAL, THE EARL1EST AND LONGEST BREED1NG SEASONS ARE IN THOSE AREAS WITH THE MILDEST CLIMATES OVER THE GREATER PART OF THE YEAR, AND THE LATESTAND SHORTEST. SEASONS ARE IN I FIG~EI . SOME LAMBING ANTI BREEDING SEASONS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIGHORN SHEEP

MBlNG AND BREEDING I THOSE AREAS WHERE THE CLIMATE, IN GENERAL, IS MORE SEVERE FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME.

VAI\IATIONS IN BREEDING AND LAMBING WITHIN THE SUB- SPECIES ARE NOTED IN CLARK COUNTY, WHERE BREEDING BEGINS ABOUT MID-JULY AND TERMINATES ABOUT THE FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER AT 500 TO 2,000 FEET ELEVATION ON BOTH SIDES OF THE COLORADO RIVER, AND BEG1NS ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST AND TERMINATES ABOUT THE FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER AT THE 3,500 TO 10,000 FOOT ELEVATION ON THE SHEEP RANGE.

IN A GENERAL ANALYSIS OF SUCH WIDE VARIATIONS OF BREED- ING SEASONS AMONG DIFFERENT SUB-SPECIES AND IN DIFFERENT AREAS, WE MIGHT EXAM1 NE THE CORRESPOND l NG LAMB l NG SEASONS AND EVALUATE WHAT EFFECTS LAMBING HAS ON SETTING THE EX- TREME LIMITS OF BREEDING. FIGURE 1 SHOWS THAT THE LOWER SONORAN RACES OF BIGHORN, BREED AND LAMB LARGELY DURING D 1 F- FERENT MONTHS THAN DO THE BOREAL RACES, ALTHOUGH AN OVERLAP MAY BE FOUND THAT MIGHT BE INFLUENCED BY THE ELEVATIONAL RANGE OF THE SHEEP DURl NG THE BREEDING AND LAMBING SEASON.

IN SOUTHERN NEVADA THE NELSON BIGHORN SHEEP BREED AND LAMB EARLIER AT THE 500 FOOT ELEVATION THAN THEY DO AT THE 5,008 FOOT ELEVATION. LIKEWISE, IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA, THAT IS EVEN MORE SO ENTRENCHED IN A'TRUE DESERT ENVIRONMENT, THE SHEEP BREED AND LAMB EVEN EARLIER THAN THEY DO AT THE 500 - FOOT+&JAT-l ON-I-N-NE-VADA . ------. ------IN MAMMALS, ALTHOUGH THE BREEDING SEASON IS VARIABLE FROM A SHORT PERIOD OF TlME ONCE A YEAR TO SEVERAL TIMES OVER MOST OF THE YEAR, THE GESTATION PERIOD IS SET WITHIN RATHER DEFINITE TlME LIMITS. IN DOMESTIC SHEEP THE GESTATION PERIOD HAS AN 18 DAY SPREAD THAT VARIES FROM 141 TO 159 DAYS WITH AN AVERAGE OF 150. IT IS THESE VARIATIONS IN GESTATION PERIODS, THAT IN THE DOMESTIC SHEEP ARE INFLUENCED BY THE BREED OF SHE.EP AND EVEN THE INDlVIDUAL RAM, AS WELL AS THE PERIOD OF PUBERTY AND -THE DATES WHEN THE EWE EXPERIENCES HER PERIOD OR. PERIODS OF OESTRUS, THAT ACCOUNT FOR LAMBS THAT ARRIVE BEFORE

AND AFTER THE MAJORITY OF BIRTHS. ,

IN THE NORTHERN RACES OF BIGHORN SHEEP SUCH EARLY AND LATE LAMBS COULD ENCOUNTER CLIMATIC CONDITIONS DETRIMENTAL TO THE l R SURVl VAL AND ENVlRONMENTAL FACTORS ',:OULD THUS DETERMI NE THE TlME OF THE LAMBING SEASON BY ELIMINATING OFF-SEASON LAMBS THAT WOULD HAVE BECOME ADD l T IONAL OFF-SEASON BREEDERS.

THE DESERT RACES OF BIGHORN SHEEP ARE SUBJECT TO THESE EARLY AND LATE ARRIVALS AMONG THE LAMBS, BUT DUE TO THE COM- PARATIVELY MILD CLIMATE OF 200 OR MORE FROST-FREE DAYS A YEAR, AN EARLY LAMB HAS A GOOD CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL AND A LATE- LAMB FAVORED TO CARRY OVER THE FIRST WINTER. THESE EARLY AND LATE LAMBS REACH PUBERTY AT DIFFERENT DATES AND EVEN DlF- FERENT MONTHS, AND SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS OF THESE TWO EXTREMES W I DENS THE BREAK AND SLOWLY SPREADS THE BREED ING AND LAMBING SEASONS UNTIL IT IS CHECKFD BY THE SHORT PERIOD OF THE YEAR UNSUITED TO LAMB SURVIVAL. IT WOULD THUS APPEAR THAT THE DURATION OF THE BREEDING SEASON OF BIGHORN SHEEP IS GOVERNED BY WHAT WE MIGHT- TERM A rtSURVIVAL SEASONII OF THE LAMBS.

ADVERSE WEATHER CONDIT I ONS APPEAR TO INFLUENCE BREED ING TO A LESS EXTENT THAN LAMB SURVIVAL AS IS ATTESTED BY THE BREEDING SEASON OF SOME BOREAL RACES THAT EXTENDS INTO DECEMBER AND JANUARY.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS

WITH MY LIMITED INFORMATION I HAVE TRIED TO POINT OUT - THE !MPORTANGE OF BREEDING AND FACTORS GONTROLLING BREEDING IN REGARDS TO BIGHORN UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGEMENT. I FEEL THAT WE HAVE SOME'PRESENT DAY MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS THAT WOULD BE SOLVED, OR AT LEAST UNDERSTOOD, IF WE HAD A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF BIGHORN BREEDING, AND IT IS MY HOPE THAT THIS IM- PORTANT SEGMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH Wl LL BE GIVEN THE - -A--T-TENyI-ON;-L1-T-D ES-ERVES -1-N-OUR-C00RD I NA-FED -t I-FE--H-I-SPO RY-AN D------MANAGEMENT STUDY THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THl S COUNCI L IN 1962. LITERATURE CITED

Buechner, H. K. (1960) The bighorn sheep in the United States, its present, past, and future. Wild1 ife Soc. Wi ldl ife Monograph No. 4.

Bullough, W. S. (1951) Vertebrate sexual cycles. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Burns, Eugene (1953) Sex life of wild animals, Rinehart & CO., Toronto, N. Y.-

Couey, F. M. (1948) Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Montana. Mont. Fish & Game Comm. Bull. no. 2.

Davis, W. B. (1938) Summer activity of mountain sheep in Mount Washburn, Ye1 lowstone National Park. Jour. Mamm. vol. 19, no. 1, p. 84-94.

and W. P. Taylor (1939) The bighorn sheep of Texas. Jour. Mamm. vol. 20, no. 4, p. 440-445.

Dixon, J. S. and E. L. Sumner (1939) A survey of desert bighorn in Death Valley National Monument, Calif. Fish & Game, vo12. 25, no. 2, p. 72-95.

_- -H on_e-s-~-,A..~E._an~-N.- M .-F_r_o__st--CIC19!G2)-A -WA.yYmbg= b i-g hamsheep _ - study. Wyo. Game & Fish Dept. Bull. no. 1.

Jones, Fred L. (1950) A survey of Sierra Nevada bighorn. Contrib. Mus. Vert. Zoo. U. of Calif., Berkeley.

Moser, C. A. (1962) The bighorn sheep of Colorado. Colo. Game & Fish Dept.

Packard, F. M. (1946) An ecological study of the bighorn sheep in Rocky Mountain National. Park. Jour. Mamm. vol. 27, no. 1, p. 3-28.

Pulling, Albert Van S. (1945a) Hybridization of bighorn and domestic sheep. Jour. Wildlife Mngmt. vol. 9, no. 1. (1945b) on-breedi ng in bighorn sheep. Jour. Wildlife Mngmt. Vol. 9, no. 2. Russo, John P. (1956) The desert bighorn sheep in Arizona. State of Ariz. Game & Fish Dept.

Smith, 0. R. (1954) The bighorn sheep of Idaho. State of Idaho, Dept. of Fish & Game, Wildlife Bull. no. 1.

Spencer, C. C. (1943) Notes on the life history of the ocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the Tarryall Mounta ns of Colorado. Jour. Mamm. vol. 24, no. 1, p. -11.

Terri 11, C. E. (1937) ~easurementsof reproductive capac t Y as an aid in selecting rams of high fertility Proc. Am. Soc. Animal Production.

1938) Reproduct i ve capaci ty of rambouiili et t ram lambs as indicated by semen tests. Proc. A. Soc. Animal Production.

1940) Comparison of ram semen coilect ions obtained by three different methods of artificial insemi- nation. 33rd Annual Proc. Am. Soc. Animal Product ion.

and L. N. Hazel (1947) Length of gestation in range sheep. Am. Jour. Vet. Research, vol. 8, no. 26. . . -_Wa_r_b_ri~t~t0.n~,-V~.-an.d-E.~~~.-.McKensi_e~(_l9_3~7_)~-The~p1_It_uI ta r s lands -- of ewes in various stage of reproduction. U. of Mo. Ag. Exp. Sta. Research Bull. 257.

Wells,. Ralph E. and Florence 9. Welles (1961) The bighorn of Death Valley. Nat. Parks Fauna Series no. 6. DEMING - (Discussion) Bishop - Did you say greater activity by males stimulated the fertility or just gave us a greater statistical possibility?

Deming - Better possibility of conception, especially if we have low fertility rams which is not impossible in our desert conditions.

Fountain - You mentioned that after the reproductive organs had been removed the animal still came in estrous, is this true? Dming - They came in heat, had the breeding urge. Fountain - In what species? Deming - Sheep! Domestic sheep! Fountain - This isn't true in most animals. Deming - If you want to tie it down, I'll give you the name of the Sargent whom I met in Fort Douglas who related this to me. Fountain - He was the sheep breeder'! Deming - No! Fountain - Normally when you do an ovario-histerectomy they won't come in

- - _-es!Fw_s ,-.-p-4-----_- _- - - __- -_ _ -=._a ------Deming - No, but they have the breeding urge. Fountain - I don' t believe so. Deming - O.K., lets put it down as a fellow told me. Simmons - Just a comment on your chart. On our refuge (Kofa and Cabeza Prieta) we have seen lambs in January and in June. This compares with your chart and'it appears that (his canadensis) mexicana has the longest spread of all the subspecies.

Deming - Yes! In some individual cases it could be stretched out to where no lambs are born during only two months of the year.

Duncan - I just wanted to quote something that I picked up from a bio-ecology book concerning the estrous of domestic sheep. "The female sheep does not enter into estrous with any certainty until stimulated by a sharp change in temperature from day to night. "

J Deming - I didn't run across that one. This whole subject is so fragmentary that if all I've done today is encourage some of you people in this audience who are actively working with bighorn to take an interest in the subject of bighorn breeding. Welles - Not only the mild climate but the hot climate like that found in Death Valley with sheep living at 900 feet that we have observed.

Hansen - That appears to be true at the DRG too. Observations of young lambs or breeding activity indicates that there probably is only two months of the year when lambs are not born. Larsen - I remember a report recently about domestic rams lacking in fertility because of the heat so they were going to keep them indoors to keep their body temperature down. You might think' this would occur in wild sheep, but why wouldn't this condition be overcome through natural selection.

Deming . - Thatts true they may be adjusted to it. We dont t know. Graf - I wanted to comment on what Ock (Deming ) said about mixing species. This is very important in future introductions of these animals in new or former range. In mixing, you mix the entire evolutionary acquisition. You scramb3e it up and you may just come out with something unsuited. This way even apply to races and should be kept in mind for future reference. ' BIGHORNS AND SAPAGOS

Seymour H. Levy Tucson Wildlife Unlimited

P. 0. Box 5172, !Tucson, Arizona

The Papago Indian Reservation is located in south-central Arizona. It

occupies almost 3 million. . acres in Pima, Pinal and Maricopa Counties. The reservation is the second largest in the United States. It is about the size of Connecticut and is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. \ The major portion of the reservation lies in the Sonoran Desert. It con-

sists of wide arid deysand plains interspersed with mountain ranges ' which rise abruptly from the valley floor. The elevation varles 'fram 1378

feet on the northern boundry.3.n the Santa Rosa Valley to 7730 feet at . Baboquivari Peak on the eastern boundry.

- Desert-Bi-@om- are- known--to-occur -in -most-of- the-ma-jor--mountain --ranges--in-- -=---

the reservation, among which are: Sank Rosas, Cimarrons, Mesquites, Sierra . . Blancas, Quijotoas, Saucedas, Coyotes, Ajos, Baboquivaris, and Sswtooths. Indeed, Gale Monson, former Refuge Manager for the Kofa and Cabeza Prieta

Nstional Game Ranges, saw his first desert sheep in the Sauceda Mountains on the reservation. According to the Fapago Indian Agency, sheep occur the

year around inatheSanta Rosa and Ado Mountains. National Park Service Rangers see bighorn quite often in the Ajos. Arizona Game and Fish Depart- ment field personnel report sheep in the Baboquivari, Coyote, Silverbell,

Sawtooth and Sauceda Mountains. Papago Indians report that sheep- were commonly seen in the Baboquivaris in olden days, according to Dr. Bernard Font-, Ethnologist at the Arizona State Museum. Two of the finest rams to be taken in Arizona were shot in the Sauceda Mountains just off the aorthwest corner of the reservation. The Sand Tank Mountains, immediately north of the reservation, are one of Arizona's finest sheep habitats. The reservatica also affords excellent habitat for mule deer, javelina and sndl game animals.

The sheep, as well as the other wildlife, are neither protected nor maaaged on this reservation. You will note that I distinguish between protection and management. I prefer Aldo Leopold's and Trippensee's definition of

Gsme Management where harvest is part and parcel to Game Mansgement. Leopold - says: "Game Management is the art of ding land produce sustained annual. crops of wild game for recreational use." Tripensee states: "The field of Wildlife Management has many sides and many angles. Fundamentally it is the process of making Wii and witer pmducs susLtahed cmps ef wild aMs."

The reason why I dwell on this distinction, as will be further explained

The Papago Indians are not bound by any state or federal hunting regulations.

Unless otherwise directed by the FBpago Tribal Council, any Fapago may take any kind and amount of wildlife at any time. The Papagos, living in a land of scarc%ty, have been forced to obtain maximum utilization of the native plants and animals in order to survive. A representative of the United States

Indian Service in Sells relates that one of the Indian Police recently (~ebruary1962) shot seven sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains. There is a recent unconfirmed report of the slaughter of a herd of "antelope" east of the Ajo Mountains. A band of ewes and lambs no doubt? Father Lambert reports Indians shooting sheep in the Sierra Blanca Mountains three years ago, according to Dr. Fontana. This is all perfectly legal, legitimate and, in the eyes of the poorer Papagos, necessary. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs there are approximately 8000

Papsgos on the reservation. They are divided into 1200 families and live in 73 scattered villages. The Papagos are one of the poorest tribes in -* Arizona. There are about 430 families on weuare. -go families fall into two general income classifications. The first group of sane 400 families has, through education, training or special adaptability, fitted themselves into the white man's econq. The second group, of about 800 families, maintains a precarious livlihood froan subsistence farming in good years, small cattle holdings, wood cutting and increasingly from seasonal off-the-reservation labor at the lowest possible wage scale. The latter' group consists almost entirely of uneducated, non-English speaking people whose incomes range from a bare subsistence level downward. They have scratched desperately for subsistence and money from any possible source. We can never' protect the desert sheep from people living under these conditions, but=perhaps=with-a - good-sound -program _we can convince--themhathattmanagementtOf___-

\ the sheep as well as the other gane is to their advantage.

Indian Reservations are the same as private lands fromthe hunter standpoint. A non-tribal member cannot, without special license or privilege, hunt or fish on an Indian Reservation. Many Arizona tribes have taken advantage of the white man's xillingness to pay for their sports. The Fort Apache Indian

Rlbe realizes $57,950 income from the sale of hunting and fishing permits; the Colorado River Indian Tribes $5,124; and the Hualapai Tribe $1,530 from deer hunting permits alone. I understand that the ~ualapaimay open their lands for bighorn hunting. I have no total annual incame figure for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, but they have excellent hunting and get a good return from the sale of elk, turkey, javelina and deer hunting tags and fishing permits. They sell at least $6,000 worth of game tags yearly. This is not the only revenue brought into the reservations. Additional income is

derived from the sale of gas and oil, merchandise and groceries, room

rentals and other services to hunters and fishermen, not the least of

which is guiding and packing.

BUT THEW3 MUST BE AEU'IMALS TO HUNT AND HARVEST..

Tde San Carlos, Fort Apache and Navajo Indians have instigated management

programs for wildlife on their respective lands. The tribal members as

well as non-members are limited by game regulations. They have their own

Gane and Fish Commissions and full-time Indian Game Rangers commissioned

by the state. And they do enforce the laws. These tribes have realized

the value, and economic benefits of sound game management and vigorous game

Bob Housholder, Arizona's senior sheep hunting guide, charges $1000 pr

hunter for a 12 day desert sheep hunt. He guarantees nothing but a good

-- huntrHe-gets -$250-f or -a--three day - jave-lina - hunt .- -It-is -his -opini-on-that- the Rapago Tribe could ccnmnand and get $10 for a deer permit, $5 for a pig

permit and from $25 to $50 for a sheep permit. He states further that the -

tribe could get no less than $350 per sheep hunter for an Indian guide.

Although the Papago Indian Tribal Council has authorized the hunting of

smaLl game by non-tribal members with the purchase of a $10 permit, they do

not allow big game hunting by "outsiders". This is one very excellent and

feasible source of subsistence and money that they have not scratched. The

Papago Tribal Council, according to a 11 February 1963 television news broad- cast, has appealed to Representative Morris K. Udall for Federal- Aid because their reservation lacks natural resources. The harvest of wild game for re-

creation is a resource the Papagos have not even touched yet.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department feels that the best approach to the problem of game management on the Indian Reservations, as far as they are

concerned, is to let the request for cooperation in establishing a hunting

season cane from the tribe to the department. If the particular tribe is

ready for such a management program they will initiate the action. If they

are not and the department initiates the action, the proposals might create mistrust and misunderstanding which would slow the entire program. The

Indians are rather reluctant to turn over aqy use of their lands to white

men on a fee basis since, in l~lanyof their minds, this represents ateinter -

ference with something that is theirs. This attitude may reflect a distrust resulting fran historical conflicts which occurred with the entry of white . -. men into the southwest. It would be pradoxical in this instance, since the

Pspagos were one of the least persecuted and now are one of the least pro-

gressive, while the Apaches were perhaps the most oppressed and nsw are among

the more progressive.

It would appear then that our best chance for a successful desert bighorn

sheep management program on the Papago Indian Reservation would came with

the cooperation- of the various Federal agencies that work directly with Indians and therefore, perhaps, more firmly entrenched in their trust. If the - Iksert Bighorn Council along with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

and the Arizona Game and Fish Depsrtment can interest the Bureau of Indian

Affairs, and in pazticular Mr. Richard Scweitzer, B.I.A. developnent officer

at Sells, and the hblic Health Service in this program the battle will be half

-won. If they, in turn, can convince the Papago Tribal Council of the economic

value of not only the desert sheep but the deer and javelina also, both the

Papago Indians and the wildlife will benefit. Dr. Fontana, because of his

vast knowledge of Papgo ways, will be a valuable ally. If the Papago Indians

can be persuaded to set up an Indian Fish and Game Commission and cooperate with the Arizona Game and Fish Department in establishing a game management plan with restrictive regulations and trained Indian Game Rangers to enforce the orders, the Fapago Reservation could be transformed into a hunter's mecca.

It is not unreasomble to believe that income from white hunters might reach from $8,000 to $10,000 or more annually. As Starker Leopold states in Wildlife of Mexico: 'Wherever possible, wildlife crops should be used for sport hunting, since this brings the highest values to a conmnmity. Any village that can create and maintain a mecca for the sportsmen will, in the end, profit handsomely by it."

The instietion and initiation of sound game management for the desert bighorn sheep and other wildlife on the Fapago Indian Resermtion is a challenge that,

I hope, the ~esertBighorn Council will accept.

Literature Cited

Anon., (1949) The Papago Developent Program. Haskell Institute Print Shop.

Leopold, A. Starker (1959) Wildlife of Mexico. University of California

Press, Berkeley. Leopold, Aldo (1946) Game Management. Charles cribh her's sons, N. Y. Trippensee, R. E. (1948) Wildlife Management. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. , SIGIU'IFICANT BIGHORN SLIDES

Florence B. ?rPelles Collaborator National Park Service

The following letter, dated February 7, 1963, was sent to members of the Desert Bighorn Council: Dear Fellow Member: We are going to have a program at our nest meeting in Las Vegas in which dlmembers are,urged to play a part, It has to do with photography in its perspective as a means to an end -- an instrument to aid in the perception, accumulation and perpetuation of information about the bighorn or the factors bearing on his welfare.

In our own sphere we have been amazed at the information we have collected, sometimes without even being aware of it, in pictures -- pictures showing some significant facet in the pattern of bighorn life history -- or my other plant 0s mhal for that mattes, What the program committee and we are hoping for is that ------you--will--bring--any-and-all - slides - which--5ecord--or---i-llus------trate a significant fact or incident which has influenced your thinking and judgment in this field. Remember it is the emhasis on content rather than the quality of the picture. Of course, the better the picture, the more effective it is likely to be, But to illustrate the point: In August of 1955 we took a picture of a ewe nursing a lamb at Virgin Spring in the Black Mountains of Death Valley National Monument, elevation about 2000 feet, temperature 1180 F. This was very early in our .field work and we attached no particular significance to the incident at the time. A couple of years later, however, we came across the slide, and being able by then to compare it to many other slides of ewes nursing lambs we were struck by these facts:- The- lamb was so biz that it had to fall on its knees in order to reach unde5 the motherrs udder qd its horns were developed enough to compare favorably to a six or seven month old lamb. This started us watching other lambs from the point of view of trying to establish an average weaning age for Death Valley lambs. Therefore this picture became a significant picture. This is the type of picture that we hope you will bring and exhibit at the Council meeting. Further, it was from the study of our pictures of them that we first realized how easily six month old ewe lambs could be told from six month old r am lambs. No objection would be raised to your bringing pictures that you thought were just good pictures, of course1 We would appreciate your taking the time to look over the slides that you have, or even borrowing some from someone iwho will not be attending the meeting, and then letting us know what you will be bringing to the Council. We should have this information by March 15. But if we haven't heard from you, bring the slides anyway. Xe hope many different areas will be represented. Looking forward to a great meeting in Las Vegas, Sincerely yours,

Florence 'Zelles Slide Chairman 1963 Desert Bighorn Council

- --. ------~liiesand descriptions of the subjects shown were presented by the following members: Richard Weaver California Fish and Game Dr. Charles Hansen Bureau of Sport Fisheries and 13ildlife James Xiloairurn Bureau of Land Xanagement Charles W. Wendt Bational Park Service John Russo Arizona Game and Fish Dept. A1 Jonez Nevada Fish and Game C ommission Norman Simmons Bureau of S port Fisheries and gildlife Norman Bishop Uational Park Service Parry Larsen Bew Xexico Dept. of Game and Fish James Sleznick National Park Service Tomy L. Sailey Texas Game and Fish Commission Black and white Gerald Duncan Bureau of S port Fisheries and Yildlife Bill Zeffalt a a 11 21 .- n RE-ESTABLISHING N!TITPE BIGHORN RANGES

Jim Yoakum Wildlife Specialist Bureau of Land Management Reno, Nevada

When whiteman first crossed the Mississippi River and traveled to the Pacific Coast, he found bighorn sheep in fifteen western states (Buechner 1960:15). But by the 1940's bighorns had been exterminated in four states and in many of the remaining states, they were reduced to living in approximately ten percent of their endemic rangelands. It is encouraging to note that within the past two decades--wildlife management has helped ze-establish bighorns in three of the four states where they were previously exterminated. Bighorns have been liberated also in many states where they were greatly decreased in numbers or areas of inhabitation.

Therefore, we can see that the technique of liberating bighorns in their - former native ranges has resulted in a significant management practice relative to the bighorn's future welfare. This paper's objective is to review and record the various bighorn re-establishment projects completed recently. No attempt was made to evaluate the transplanting techniques used, for each case warranted individual practices, but this paper should be an aid ,in this matter by providing sources of where this data may be - sb.tained.------.------Listed in Table 1 is a total of 20 transplant ventures in six different states. Not all reintroduction projects are listed, for many earlier attempts date back as far as 1922. Methods and techniques were not the same then as current transplant procedures. The transplants listed in Table 1 are all believed successful according to latest available information. It is noteworthy that each of the prominent bighorn subspecies, Ovis canadensis canadensis, g. 5. californiana, and 2. 2. nelsoni, have been successfully reintroduced in their native rangelands.

Apparently there is a number of questions that repeatedly arise when wildlife managers begin discussing the possibility of bringing bighorn sheep back to originally inhabited areas. It would be timely, I believe, if these matters were discussed in detail now, for they may have a bearing on future transplant plans. 1. Diseases: Can bighorns be liberated in ranges now utilized by domestic sheep? Although early records discuss the dangers of diseases (including parasites) transmitted to wild sheep by domestic sheep, one should bear in mind that the science of animal husbandry has greatly improved in recent years and epizootic.diseases are no longer common in domestic herds. The two Oregon transplants of bighorns are right in the middle of domestic sheep ranges and there are no current disease problems in that area. 2. Public Opinion: Certain attempts to establish bighorn populations in the 1930's and 1940's met with failure because of public attitude. Howeyer, public relations through range users, land management agencies, sportsmen, and wildlife agencies have changed the picture and we see more favorable attitudes toward transplants today.

Transplant Methods: Many of the first reintroduction projects liberated the animals with complete freedom in their new.environment. This practice was not as successful as recent ventures whereby ' the animals were retained in large enclosures before given complete freedom. The use of drugs and tranquilizers has greatly aided the science of handling animals. Helicopters and airplanes have facilitated transportation methods. Trapping techniques have improved from catching a single animal to whole bands of bighorns which may have a social affect on mortality. Consequently, it can be seen that the art and science of capturing, transplanting, and releasing animals has greatly iroprwed in the past 20 years and this has been of tremendous importance to success. 4. Natural Distribution: Some persons believe that it is not necessary to transplant big game for in due course of time surrounding populations wiil-mwe into vacuum habitat regions. . - Th-i;s--is----p~obab'l;y-&me3-but -, - in--over-SO ye aEs no- Cal-igornia------bighorns began approaching Oregon from either southern California or British Columbia! Transplants greatly speed distribution. Since whiteman was possibly the greatest factor influencing the decline of bighorn populations, he can likewise be one of the biggest factors in bringing them back. This can be accomplished through such objectives as re-establislixg native wildlife on endemic ranges using up-to-date techniques in the art and science of wildlife management. ReCENT BIGHORN m-ESTABLISEIMENTS TO TABLE - 1 NATIVE RANGES

STATE SUB-SPECIES AND LITERATDRE REMARKS DAT E CITED

- . -- Montana Personal Eleven different trans- -canadensis 1942-1962 conrmunication plants totalling 297 bighorns accomplished to date within the state of Montana. One herd released in 1947 increased sufficient for a haryest in 1955.

South Dakota Nachtegal Twelve bighorns released 1962 1961: 4 from Alberta. Plans are to obtain more bighorns from 3bnta.a. - Oregon wng Zlwesty bighorns from British f 954 1460 Columbia transplanted to Hart Mountain National Wm- life Refuge. Increased in numbers around 200% in five years. Used now as a nucleus -

Oregon Eleven bighorns from Hart 1960 - 1961 Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon transplanted to the Steens Mtns., Oregon in two separate releases.

Washing ton Isely Eighteen from British Columbia 1957 1962: 36 to eastern Washington. Re- production has resulted in favorable increases. Two more transplants to other areas in Washington made from this nucleus herd.

North Dakota Eighteen bighorns from British 1957 Columbia liberated. Popula- tion more than doubled in first four years.

Texas Hailey Sixteen bighorns from Arizona 1957 -1959 19-62 to Texas. Although high mortality in beginning, reproduction from sheep born in Texas makes project appear successful now. LITERATURe CITED

Buechner, Helmut K. (1960) The bighorn sheep in the United States, its past, present, and future. The Wildlife Society, Mmograph No. 4 174 pp.

Deming, Oscar (1961) 1960 Bighorn Sheep Transplants at the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. In Desert Bighorn Council 1961 Transactions. pp. 56-57.

Amzonymous (1961) 1961 Annual Report, Game Division, Oregon State Game Commission, Portland, Oregon.. 178 pp.

Annonymous . (1961) Dakota sheep population increases. In: WildliSe - Review, British Columbia Fish gnd Game, V.aaciew No. 7, - -- -vo~~e--25-3~-pp .------

Nachtegal, Ralph (1961) Department introduces new game varities. In: South Dakota Conservation Digest, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre. Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 2-6.

Hailey, Tom (1962) Status of transplanted bighorns in Textis. In: Desert Bighorn Council 1962 Transactions. pp. 129-130. BIGHORN StfEEP OF THE JWGELES NATIONAL FOREST bsr Charles E. Kennedy Wildlife Biologist - Angeles National Forest

I will begin my short paper by explaining very briefly my duties as Wildlife Biologist on the Angeles National Forest. Most of qy time is presently directed toward completing a Big Game Range Analysis on the Spngus District (Deer Herd Unit #28C Newhall, State #95), which will provide information necessary to complete a Rig Game Habitat Management Plan for the herd. When I complete the Saugns Herd plan I will start an .nalysis for the Son Gabriel Hta. deer herd (#29A, State #96) and the Angeles Bighorn. The Sangus District is separated from the rest of the Angeles and I am detailed to the district to be nearer the work. Each month I spend a few days on the other districts attempting to accumulate information about both bighorn and deer.

I came to--the Angeles just a year ago last November and have only spent 11 days, 7 trips in sheep canntrg, so I have only a few wsheep factsR to use in my talk.

To begin with I will insert a condensed outline of procedure we follow in a Big Gvee Analysis and Big Game Habitat Hanagement Plan for the Angeles Bighorn. Big Ovae F&nge Anslysis-Big Game Habitat Management Plan

-- u5-Department-.ofEishand-.Game__is-charged -with ._fhshsprotection and management of fish, game and fur bearers in California. The Forest Service has been given the responsibility for protection and management of uildlife habitat on national forest lands. Definition

Big game range analysis is a composite of livestock and big game range survey~made to determine range condition, game occurrence, and population trends for use as a basis for management. The need for such management becomes more pressing each year because of the increasing demand by the public for hunting, the responsibility of the Forest Service to maintain or improve the habitat, the presence of big game in excessive numbers on mamy ranges, and the increasing conq?etition between uses on national forest lands. Minimum Standards

The minimum requirements for big game range analysis consist- of the following:

1. Designation of herd unit boundaries. 2. Designation of seasonal ranges. 3. Designation of key areas for game. a. Classification of condition and trend. b. Installation of 3-step transects. c. Utilization records for browse and/or other key plants. d. Pellet group counts. e. Track counts. f. Fenced exclosures. g. Other investigatiom. Key areas are those portions of a range where use of food is most pronounced because of concentrated seasonal use or for other reasons. Suchcareaswlll usually be Umited to that smaller portion of the yearlong range aregams find food and cover during severe weather. But thsy mqy also occur on other seasonal use areas such aa on the south slopes or in areas of riparian vegetalAon on nonmigratory deer ranges, and on the summer range of migratory deer herd ranges are this is the factor in shortest supply. Key areas indicate and may limit, the number of animals a range can safely carry. Collectively, they are the key to management of the entire big game range. 'Where key areas are situated immediately outside the forest boundary they - should be type mapped to complete the herd unit picture.

Habitat inspections shall be made on representative portions of key areas. These representative portions shall be called inspection units or areas. -

The bas~#- -irlspe- ction Iml-nsed-inegion -5- FSLL!! ths ~-ent ------browse bansect. (Either l/l3 acre belt transect or 1/L0 acre circular belt. ) The& transects shall be used to obtain information on (a) adforage supply, pressure or demand for forage, through pellet group counts and (b) effect of the degree of use on the resource, through condition and trend checks.

Big Gam Habitat Management Plans After inspection areas are established, and initial data are compiled, a habitat management plan shall be prepared for each unit. Nl use will. be made of any backlog of information on range or mbals possessed by the Department of Fish and Game. Such information as the relation of fawn survival by range condition, trends in animal numbers, the composition of the animals hamested, breeding and fawning dates and areas, wlll complement and strengthen the plan. Proposals for direct habit& hprovements, and for coordination of other kes so a8 to maintain or improve big game habitat values, shall. be included.* (1) - (1) Renge Analysis Field Guide - Division of Range and Wildlife Management California Region 1960. Grazing on the national forest lands in California has been significantly reduced: Cattle Sheep

But these reductions have had little bearing on the habitat of the Angelea Bighorn, be cause colnn6rcial grazing privileges on the Angeles National Forest do not extend into Bighorn range. The only active grazing permita on the forest are on the Sangus District some 25 milea to the Northweat of the Bighorn country.

DEER-SHEEP CCIMPETITION'Z I have seen deer.three times in sheep cauntrg. Sheep in their winter rangea (lower elevations) are competing directly with deer-for their daily requirements. There is mtlchless competition on the snmazsr ranges.

Deer harveat figurea from recent years for L.A. Counts are as followst Antemless Buck Anterless Permits

Eighty to ninety percent of these deer are taken on Angeles National Forest lands. For 1962 3% of the bucks (177) and 54% of the anterless (116) wre taken from that portion of the forest where sheep occur. Most of these were taken in the ChapamX#lloulands and mnrld have very little direct influence on sheep. Some deer taken in the *High Mountainn country would have a more direct bearing upon aheep but due to the rngged terrdn and inaccessibility of the sheep countrg few deer were killed that were in direct competition with sheep for food, water, etc. Aa we' gain a more detailed knowledge of where sheep range we can make better use of deer kill mapa to evaluate the influence of the deer kill on sheep.

In addition to the declining deer M11, deer pellet counts show a marked downward trend.

Carrying capacity for deer fluctuates witt weather patterns which often may produce a dry spell. extending from the last rain in Feb., March, or April until the first wintel rai-I comes in the following Nov., Dec., The or January. 1962-63 dry spell- Fan. through 317 d~seihmt rain* (1) Figures presented by William P. Dasman, Wildlife Specialist, Assistant to Division Chief, U.S. Forest Service, Region 5, at the Dec. 1962 meting of the Board of Directors meeting of California Wildlife Federation. this stage I could only guess at the degree of parallelism between sheep population trends and deer population trends. Since sheep generally occupy higher elevations with higher precipatation levels, fluctuations in carrging capacities probably do not vary so widely in their home ranges.

PRESENT STATUS OF THE ANGELES SHEXP

Anselmo bwislspoke to this group in 19602at La$ k-uces, New Mexico. l'Selmotl is still keeping excellent records of sheep sightings on the Baldy District and ask me to report that the herd appears to be. maintaining itself at the same level.

On page 73 of his report Selmo reported, "There are some indications that there are Bighorn in the Mt. Islip area, but reports are fragmentazy." We have now confirmed the presence of sheep in the area. Our reconnaissance . has been mostly in the Mt. Waterman, Kratka Ridge, and Bear Carrgon drainage (an area roughly 6 miles long by 5 miles wide.) At first we could find no ems. Finally, Selmo had a report of ewes seen in the lower portion of Bear Canyon along a trail. Then in December 1962, I jumped some sheep ant of bed and with just a second or two to decide %hatthey were, I put them - down as a ewe, a young ram and a yearling af unknown sex. Selmo and I naw feel that there is another band of sheep in this area. In numbers the band probably is somewhat smaller than the Mt. BalQr group. The few facts or observations I have are mostly about this new band of sheep as follows: Summer Range -

On several trips during the fall of 1962 (7 days total) we saw very heavy sheep sign and a total of 21 ams and 6 unidentified in the Mt. Waterman area. But when Ronald Hein5 and I returned to the same locations on March 6, we found no sign. The light snow on Feb. 11 & 12 - had evidently caused them to move to lower climes.

Ample free water has been found in each of the 3 or 4 small draws checked to date. Study of the quadrangle maps of the area show at least 10-12 more draws & springs to be checked-to complete an inventory of the upper or summer range portion of this sheep area. So far it would appear tbt there is too much water to make water hole counts practical in this area. -Food Most of the browse and forbs in this area are available to deer and sheep, so I will discuss each plant separately and mentioh this problem of distinguishing sheep use from deer use.

(1) District Ranger of the Mt. Baldy District. (2) See page 72 of the April 5-8, 1960 transactions. (3) Game Manager I, California Fish & Game, Chino, California. Cereocarpus ledif oHus Mountsin mohogany is one of the preferreds and is also a staple food for sheep in the higher portions of their range. Mimy plants of this species growing on chutes or talus slopes show heavy use which I believe is mostly sheep use. Rhamm~9Calif orniua

Most plants of the California Coffeeberry show some use and many show heavy use. It does not grou out on the chutes as does the Mtn. Mohogany so the browsing in most cases ia more difficult to assign as sheep use or deer use. It is commonly found more of*t;anin draws and better sites, but I have seen marry individual plants growing in locations ere deer would probably not prefer to graze because of the broken, rough terrain and therefore feel usis also a preferred staple for sheep.

I watched some ewes browsing this plant near Cat- anyo oh - (Mt. Balcly sheep area). It is wed on the low dnter ranges -but is leas a-mndant at higher or summer ranges. especially on the lomr or winter ranges are important to sheep.

Glossopetalon Mevadense

This plant we found chewed down so closely on Waterman Mtn., growing under a fairly close canopy of Jeffrey and ~onderosalthat Dick Weaver and I had to p&j around quite a bit to find one with fdton It. Deer may have been doing some of the feeding we observed on this plant but sheep were more abundant in the area judging from the mmiber of sheep observed, the numerous aheep 'beds and pellets, and small number of deer observed, so much of the use was probably sheep use. Epiogornrm spp. 8 Lupinus spp.

In this heavily- used area on Waterman both of these -plants were closely aaed.

(1) Also same Sugar Pine and White Fur. Lambing Period

Ronald Hein and I saw two lambs on April 23, 1962 that were very young-still on shaky legs. Lamb Survival On March 12, 1963, Hein and I returned to the same area where we had seen the lambs in April 62 and counted 12 ewes, 3 y ng rams, and 11 yearling lambs. Later we talked uith Mr. Weismille &e we were still observing the sheep. He reports having counted 12 ewes and12 lambs numerous times during $he spring and fall at this sane location, Mch is on a primitive road he uses to reach his private property within the forest. This is probably a reliable observation and gives a good survival picture (11 out of 12). The sheep were very close at first sighting and moved off uncon- cerned but at a steady pace feeding here and there. This area is probably the lowest limit of their range and is very brushy but not the dense impenetrable chapparal which occurs just a little lower. Just as a matter of interest I might add that Ronnie Hein and I climbed up last April along this same route the sheep used. It was steep and required carexu placing or" ones feet and. or"ten times nang- ing on or climbing up the brush. When we got up fairly high and had hopes of seeing-sheep we jumped a verg nice 3-point buck.

Observing Sheep Range via Helicopter

------. ------Dick weaver-and I flew alongside MnPeaks making two passes and saw no sheep. Later after landing we saw two rams on th6 aide of Rrin Peaks lying where we must have flown over them.

Again in late October-I flew by helicopter over nearly all of the h$ghest sheep country and saw no sheep. Of course I did learn a quite a bit about the lay of the land and made some guesses (judging from trails, cover, and terrain) about ridges, peaks and areas where I hope to find sheep. CURRENT WORK

1. Where do they uinter? It looks like they may follow the snow down and from the lay of the land you'd guess they drop into Bear Caayon drainage. I hope to getsome foot trips through here to and find th& sheep in winter. 2. How far West do they range? Dick Weaver and I were only able to cover a short portion of the ridge west from Twin Peaks. We don't really know at this time where to draw the line for sheep occurence.

(1) Professop of Literature, Pomona College. (2) The road is not open to the public. CAN WE IMPROVE THE HABITAT?

Yes. I feel sure we will be able to develop springs and improve water distribution after we get water sources tallied. We will also shortly be getting into a nursery set up with potted shrubs of ths preferred species. In burned areas, on logged over areas, and on prepared sites, perhaps we can becom successful in increasing the quantity of preferred browse. I suspect we will find areas in the lower elevations (winter range) where availabilitg of browse is the problem. We are mrMng at this problem in much of our deer country with browsewagrs, clearings, band cut access routas and revegetation projects. Still another project we are going to try is to replace Alder in wet canyon bottoms with a fruit or mast producing tree. Trapping and transplanting Sheep to "pew nearn historical ranges holds some good potential in our area.

On the Angeles National Forest we have a npeek-a-boon into the future. The Los Angeles millions are clamoring for recreation especially to get away from the mad nrsh of the city. As tims goes on there wlll be more people getting into sheep counw. - Factam bnriing .)lo offset this impact aP p-le are the exhemew rmgh terrain, fire closures, and various entry and use regulations imposed under the Hwild arean classification.

Houwill the Forest Service meet this ever increasing demand for more recreation and still protect the sheep? The Big Game Habitat - - - -- Management-Plan-W- meet - this- problem-head-on, - defwng--the=key-meaa,------the seasonal ranges and the herd unit boundaries. The.problem then will be more specific; perhaps areas will be set aside exclusively for sheep. In other locations partial exclusion of the public or seasonal exclusion may be the answer. We might find "entry by written peat only" a solution.

Perhaps am chief problem is incomplete knowledge about Bighorn their numbers, their behavior, their habitat, their tolerance of man. What effect is being on the sheep by tha invasion of man? Can we inventory sheep well enough to assess the wisdom of current management practices? GOATS ON THE JUG- . (Read by Charles Kennedy)

Unfortunately Anselmo Leuis couldnlt attend the meeting this year. He did ask me to extend his lfhellollto all of you and I have brought Kith me a letter Selmo mote in reply to a question about the use of goats for fire- break maintenance. Somewhat against Selmols wishes I will read it to you and I'm sure you will agree that Selmo will then have contributed mightily.

It is appropriate to consider goats at this time because we have one liiring uith the Bighorns on Mt. Baldy. Selmol s letter: Reference is made to your recent memorandum concerning the use of goats for maintenance of firebreaks on the Angeles in 1917.

After considerable research and investigation, we find that goats were used on the Angeles on an experimental basis for the maintenance of firebreaks during this period. Although the preliminary hypothetic theory appeared sound in that the goats would pay their keep Kith milk, meat and manure, certain biotic factors and relationships as well as administrative difficulties precluded the successf'ul application of the theory in practice. As you know, the goat originated from the paseng, an animal related to cattle and characterized by a long beard and rather poignant odor, especially among the males. These attributes appeared to be contibutable to others through association and offered s& difficulties to Forest Officers who were administr -___pro je-c% .-Unfor-tunately, t-hese co-n-tibut able _qualities caused some on the part of the general public and resulted in a degree of soc to the Forest Officers which had not been anticipated.

In addition the animals were possessed with a degree of pervisity which can only be equalled by a frustrated Russian delegate to the U.N. Herding was most difficult, with the animals constantly scattering through the brush adjacent to the firebreaks. One herder reported that it wuld be simpler to herd a swarm of bees across the desert than to keep the goats on the firebreaks. Applicants possessing this ability were immediately solicited among the local apiarists, but unfortunately the Forest Officers conducting this phase of the study made their initial approach to an apiarist uho was in the process of Ifrobbinglt this apiary of honey. Reports indicate that before questioning could be initiated the Forest Officers became concerned with other matters and rapidly lost interest in pursuing this phase of the problem, which on their recommendations was terminated and not reopened. The harvesting of the by-products to pay the maintenance of the animals caused considerable difficulty. Although the goats could be driven out and the meat utilized, approved methods for the harvesting of the milk and manure proved economically unsound on the basis of cost benefit ratio as well as inherent biotic weakness. As the firebreaks were located in country of steep and rugged topography and inaccessible, except by foot travel, means of harvesting the milk and manure proved an insurmountable obstacle. At first the goats were lnilked and the milk transported to the nearest road by pack train. Unfortunately, the milk, on arrival at the road, had attained definitely undesirable characteristics. Further study indicated that due to the churlike action of pack stock, plus the - high temperatures sustained by the containers in transit, it encouraged the process of bacteria action under Lnaerobic:conditions, which caused the milk to become curdy and with an odor which was definitely objectionable and remim- scent of primitive sanitary facilities. Preliminary studies were then initiated to handle the milk by pipelines, but due to the pipes heating up during-the heat of the day, it was manifestly impossible to get the teats of the goats into the pipes because of the sensitivity of this particular organ to outside stimuli.

Hamsting of the, manure proved most discouraging. Reports indicated that the manure t& deposited in prodigious quantities. However, the method of deposition did not lead itself to statistical analysis. Deposition on the most part was in small piles. However, each band contained a high percentage of uninhibited animals, who evidently remained in motion as deposition was made, resulting in a deviation from the norm, thus negating all efforts on the part of the statistician to arrive at a normal curve or to present, schematically, the problem for study. In addition, due ta the rapid desiccation of the small, round pellets and their lack of cohesion then dry, combined with the effect of the hill-creep, they were easily dislodged and under the pull of gravity were in constant movement toward the valley floor. Due to their shape and the steepness of the topography, some of the peuets attained considerable velocity in their movements. There are numerous reports of eyeinjuries to administrative officers from this cause, as well as sprained limbs due to the insecurity of footing and agility demanded to - - avoid=thJ,~Jfa.&&~tfL -- - -. ------

The project was abandoned &ring the first Santana Wind, when the pellets along the high ridge became airborne and were deposited in the adjacent cities in the form of a "Black Rain," causing considerable agitation among the local citizenry as uell as stimulating research which resulted in the development of such present day products as Air Wick and other aerosols. By and large, and in the long run, and notwithstanding the fact that this study was abandoned we feel that with modern technical developments, such as the vacuum cleaner, etc., that this project has definite possibilities and merits reconsieration. Recommend that funds be requested for a preliminary stu* to ascertain whether or not we are sufficiently technically advanced to utilize this resource to the best interest of the body politic. A REPORT ON THE FIRST NID-PUNTER AND SPRING BIWRIISHEEP CENSUS IN THE SAWA REA WAINS, 1962-63.

John D. Goodman Associate Professor of Biology University of Redlands, California

Although there are several population survey methods used by game biologists arid ecologists with varying degrees of success, few of the ordinarily accepted ones - - line transect, driving, trapping, or quadrat sampling--can be done with any success in censusing Desert Bighorn Sheep, thus making thorough statistical treatment of any data assehbled almost impossible. Dependence in the past has been upon direct observation of as large a segment of the population as possible in a given area over a limited period of time, relying upon an "educated guess" for estimating the entire population. Nowhere has this been more true than in the Santa Rosa Mountains. -The most reliable method to date for censusing Desert Bighorn Sheep populations - has been the mid-smmr waterhole count, occuring as it does when-the sheep are concentrated in the vi'cinity of more or less perneat wzterhnles. 'his techiiqw has been used ta advantage ir, mst of.the desert ranges, including the Santa Rosas by Weaver and Blong, with the cooperation of various agencies and institutions, including the California Department of Fish and Came, the National Park Service, plus various interested individuals from universities and colleges in the area. Allowing the assumption that the composition of the sheep A visit ing-the--summer-waterholes-ref lects-the--actwl--campositi-ononoffthX--- - sheep in the area at that time; also, assuming that the sheep observed over a two or three day period (the length of time usually considered as a minimum for remaining at any waterhole, .based on the assumption that the sheep come to drink not more often than every third or fourth day) are all different sheep, scune very interesting cbqarative data have been assembled regarding ewe-lamb-ram ratios over the past five surmters (not consecutive ,however) since the summer waterhole counts have been taken. None of the results of this study, however, are to be included in the present paper. Based on some experience, it is believed that nothing quite surpasses actually "hiking out" a canyon, when possible, with frequent stops for observation of sign and scanning the ridges and slopes for sheep. Furthermore, this is the only practical method in mid-winter and in early spring, when sheep are not yet concentrated around the available permanent waterholes. With this in mind, it was decided to attempt a mass saturation of a selected section of the Santa Rosa Mountains, covering every canyon and as much as possible the intervening ridges. It was felt that if sheep were present in any numbers they would possibly be seen by one or more observers. Also, it was thought that by partially saturating the area the chances of making errors of observation of sheep in one canyon on one day and seeing the same sheep - in another later would be considerably reduced.

On Saturday, December 1, 1962, exactly fifty people, mostly University of Redlands college students, about a dozen of whom had hiked in these mountains and about half a dozen of whom had observed sheep, took part in the census. A short briefing session, showing a moving picture of the area, of sheep of varims ages and both sexes, under different conditions, and a short discussion of the value of sign (sheep and deer tracks were shown, as well as droppings being passed aramd) presented by Mr. Richard Weaver of California Department of Fish and Game, was held on Friday night. Breakfast was served at 6:30 a.m. in the mouth of Snow Creek Canyon near Highway 111 in San Gorgonio Pass. After breakfast another short briefing session was held and assignments were made. A report form on a five by seven card, as well as a map of the area including his canyon, was given each census taker. Most carried or were supplied with canteens of water and field binoculars. The hikers were instruaed to hike up their assigned canyons until 1:00 p.m. (most were in their canyons by 9:00, making a total of -at least far hours of more or less continuous observation). They were instructed to stop often and look and listen for sheep, as well as to keep constantly alert for any sign they might encounter. Instructions were given as to likely side canyons, the locations of waterhsles, etc. , in their canyons, It was thought that faas hours of hiking by enthusiastic, healthy young college age students would result in their reaching in most cases well up into the areas of known or ---- suspected-sheep-occupancy-. ------

The results, when tallied, were somewhat disappointing. A total of nine sheep were observed, with sighting5 as follows: six in the Asbestos Peak-Black Hill area, the location of intense summer concentration; two in Dead Indian Canyon, a prime spring lambing canyon, but seldom a good spot for winter observations; and one single ram in the Snow Creek drainage. The hikers were in approximately ' fifteen groups, with from two to six in individual canyons, depending on their size and complexity. Some exceptionally hardy hikers took more than one canyon, crossing over intervening ridges to reach an adjacent canyon. The six sheep were at elevations of around 4,000 feet (2 ewes, 2 rams, 2 yearlings, not all seen together) , while the others, in Dead Indian Canyon (approximately 2,400 feet) and Snow Creek (approximately- -- 3,000 feet) were lower. The general report of all groups was very much the same; that no recent-sheep sign was encountered by any group in the lower canyon floors. Only one group, in Snow Creek, got up to 5,000 feet, and they said that they observed fresher sign as they got above 4,000 feet in that canyon. However, this is on the very edge of sheep range and it is more than a little possible they had gotten into deer habitat at that point. None of the students in that grq were competent to determine sheep sign as distinct from deer sign, either from tracks or habitat, so it is as equally probable they were observing deer as sheep, or both. The most significant thing to be derived from the census was that it was virtually impossible with merely an enthusiastic though untrained poup of census takers to observe many sheep in the desert canyons of the Santa Rosa Mountains in mid-winter. It is a personal opinion that had they stayed in for four days instead of four hours their chances of success would have been little better. Where then, are the bulk of the sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains in mid-winter? Is it possible that many sheep escaped observation even when the canyons were hiked in this concentrated fashion? Probably at least twice the number observed escaped observation, or at least thirty sheep were present in the entire area under observation. Of course, it is possible in the San Bernardino bbuntains to encounter that many sheep in a single band on very favorable occasions. What is more likely is that the sheep are extremely scattered, particularly up into high elevations, possibly well in excess of 5,000 feet. In 1956-57 a student at the University of Redlands, Mr. Edgar Bailey, spent the entire winter surveying the Santa Rosa Mountains, canyon by canyon, beginning at the extreme southern tip and working northward. Large canyons, such as Wrtinez and Deep Canyons, were not covered adequately in one weekend, but were hiked out only by returning two or more weekends, while smaller canyons might be covered on Saturday and another canyon on Simday. This student had his own jeep and an exceptionally strong pair of legs, as well as complete dedication to the task. In the entire winter, alkhough he hiked. out every myon as far as the chaparral or pinon zone, plus hiking across most of the intervening ridges, he saw only a single Desert Bigho,rn Sheep, a large ram near -the-top-of- Rabbi-t-Peak ,-at -the southly -end -of -the - range. -This------bears out the experience of most of the hikers and rock hounds who spend so much time in the Santa Rosa Mountains and in other desert ranges through the more pleasant winter months. Either the bighorns are very wary or are very widely scattered at this time, making not only observations but the finding of any fresh sign extremely difficult. Mr. Bailey's report in sumnary stated that no fresh sheep sign was observed by him below the pinon zone and that repeatedly he found relatively fresh tracks leading up into the pinon zone and sometimes into the chaparral but never down into the lower canyon bottoms. In addition to the mid-winter sheep count, a spring lambing census was conducted by the Bi010m Department of the University of Redlands on March 16, i963. his-pmvkd, however, to be an extremely poor day for it--cold and very windy. Only four sheep were seen, all ewes, at about 3,500 feet, close to the highway between it and the edge of Deep Canyon. Hikers saw no evidence of sheep in Dead Indian and Grapevine Canyons, both prime lambing areas as a general rule. A subeequent hike into Dead Indian Canyon on April 20th also was unsuc- cessful in observing ewes or lambs. It is tentatively believed that the heavy use of this area by the real estate development activities finally have affected the use of these canyons as spring lambing - areas, resulting in their almost complete abandonment this spring, whereas ten years ago as many as thirty sheep were often using the combined Dead Indian-Grapevine canyon area for lambing. Figure 1. shows the area of the mid-winter count, held on December 1, 1962. Circles indicate parties, not individuals, although some circles may indicate a single'individual, or two circles might indicate a single group in two canyons that were adjacent.

FIGURE 1 - Area of Sheep Count Dee 1, 1962 Circles designate areas investigated. 4 STUDIES CN 'IHE EFFECE OF ?HE DRUG, SUCCINYL01OLINE CXLORIDE ON DC&ESTIC SHEEP, RELATED TO ITS USE AS AN AID IN THE CAPTURE OF DESERT BICSIOFN SHEEP Dennis W. Chew and John D. Goodman University of Redlands, California

Since the arrival of the projectile syringe gun and its use to imnobilize wild animals in conjunction with nicotine alkaloids, many reports, both published and unpublished, have indicated that nicotine alkaloids were causing deleterious and sometimes lethal side effects. Also, the mechanical and functional shortcomings of the syringe gun has been a constant topic of discussion. It is the purpose of this papr to present the results from a preliminary study at the University of Redlands which attempted: 1. to find a more suitable drug which can be used on Desert Bighorn Sheep, Ovis canadensis nelsoni, with confidence in its safeK 2. to develop a more sati&actory means of delivery of the drug. Chby the first of these will be discussed in the present report. Buechner (1959) and Heuschele (1961) have expressed suckess --with-the=drug=Succiny lcholine- Ch1 mide -on many- types- of wild- animal Their optimistic reports pranpted the selection of this drug to immobilize domestic sheep, as a preliminary step because of their assumed similarity, both physiologically and genetically to the Nelson B$ghorns. The pharmacologic action of Succinylcholine Chloride is fully described in papers supplied with the drug and will not be included in this paper. Two brands of the drug were used, tT@elicintt (Abbott Laboratories) and "hectine" (Burroughs Wellcome and Company) . A standard salution of 10 milligrams per cubic centimeter was used in each trial. Where total dosages less than 10 milligrams were used, sterile water or sterile normal saline was used to bring the volume up to at least 1 cubic centimeter. The drug was administered by a normal syringe with a 24 gauge needle. All shots were given in the heavy muscle area of the upper thigh. Six matured merino ewes (numbers 1-6) of the variety Rambouillet and one six-month-old male Suffolk sheep (number 7) were used. Table 1 lists the trials, dosage employed, tine required to produce effect, duration of effect, and comnents on the .effects produced. TABLE I.

Trial Sheep Total Dosage Uose Txme Requlred Time Elapsed From No. No. Given 8 Route Mg./Lb. To Produce Innoculation To Pull

1 1 lmg./I.M. 0.01 no apparent effect 2 1 2 mg./I.M. 0.02 no apparent effect no apparent effect no apparent effect no apparent effect no apparent effect 3 minutes 24 minutes 5 minutes 18 minutes All movements slowed down after 5 mh. but no hmbilization, appeared fully recovered by 14 min, -

2.5 minutes 22 minutes 3 minutes 3.5 minutes 30 minutes 5 minutes 25 minutes 3.5 minutes 26 minutes 4 minutes 32 minutes 3 minutes 28 minutes 4 minutes 29 minutes 1.5 minutes 45 minutes 4 minutes 1 hr. 35 mine 2.5 minutes 1 hr. 32 min. TABLE I. CClNTINUED

Trial Sheep Total Dosage Dose Time Required T me Elapsed From No. No. Given 6 Route Mg./Lb. To Produce Innoarlation To Full Body Wt. Imobilization Recovery $ Conrments 3 minutes 1 hr. 2 min. Artificial respiration . given at 30 min. until recovery 4 minutes 53 minutes

L Artificial respiration given at 30 min. until recovery 3 minutes 28 minutes 33 minutes 36 minutes

2 minutes . 42 minutes 4 minutes 31 minutes 1 minute 48 minutes 7 minutes Respiration arrested ------at--9--min.---- Artificial - - respiration until 12 min. Expired at 15 min. 4.5 minutes 25 minutes 3 minutes 28 minutes 2 minutes 34 minutes no apparent effect no apparent effect no apparent effect 9 minutes 15 minutes no apparent effect 5 -5 minutes 15 minutes TBBE I. CONTINUED

Trial Sheep Total Dosage Dose Tune Requlred Tme Elapsed Fran No. No. Given 4 Route Mg./Lb. To Produce Innoculation To Full Body Wt. Immobilization Recovery 6 Comments

39 7 12 mg./I .Me 0.16 2.5 minutes 24 minutes

40 7 . 13 mg./I.M. 0.17 3 minutes 27 minutes 41 7 14mg./I.M. 0.19 2.5 minutes 43 minutes 42 7 15 mgw/IwMw 0.2 1.5 minutes 53 minutes In all of the successful cases, the onset of drug action was heralded by a drooping of the head, trembling of the forelegs and hindlegs; the animal would then attempt to walk, ataxia of a few seconds duration would be experienced at this point. The animal would then collapse, roll to its side, attempt to get up two or three times and then lie still. Recovery from the drug appeared to be the same sequence in reverse. The animal would make two or three attempts to get up, when on its feet, marked ataxia of one to three minutes duration was evidenced, followed by sudden and full recovery. Sheep number 2 was an extremely old animal, with no front teeth and no longer able to run. In trials 20 and 21, it was noted that the animal was effected 3 times longer than the other sheep, by a normal dosage. In trials 22 and 23, artificial respiration was administered at the end of 30 minutes and it was noted that the recovery time was shortened by approximately one third. It was found that artificial respiration could be administered efficiently and effortlessly by first placing the animal on its side with the anterior portion of its body higher than the posterior, then with an open palm, pushing the abdomen anteriorly. Large clouds of dust stirred up by the air expelled through the nostrils gave a direct indication that the animal was receiving more air than before. Sheep number 5 suffered fran a chronic cough and persistant sneezing. Two minutes after immobilization, respiration arrested. Artificial respiration was imnediately administered and appeared successful until the air passage became obstructed. The animal expi-red-approximately-three- minutes later .-- A- general autopsy--revealed -- -- that both the bronchi and the trachea were full of mucous. Thick mucous was also found in the lungs. In addition, approximately 25 percent of the lung tissue was grey and hard in contrast to the pink, spongy tissue in the rest of the lung. No other gross abnormalities were noted. The experience of the authors indicate that the drug Succinvlcholine Chloride is a relatively safe and effective drug to us; on domestic sheep and possibly aiso on Ovis canadensis nelsoni. For mature ewes, there appears to be a latitum&om 0.11 -= milligrams per hd. using a dilution of 10 milligrams per cubic centimeter on a sheep of about one hundred pounds, the user would have 1.3 cubic centimeters of freedom in the estimation of a proper . dosage for an animal of unknown weight. It can be seen from examination of the table that approximately the same is true for yaung lambs. Cessation of cardiac action was not noted in 32 successful trials. Even larger dosages may be used, for the L.D.50 of this drug for domestic sheep was not established. However, it was an opinion that this point was not far off. Also, due to the pharmacologic action of the drug, it is safe to administer a subsequent larger dosage approximately five to ten minutes following an insufficient dosage. There is also indication that artificial respiration can be employed successfully to speed recovery from an overdose, or complications due to poor health of the animal.

LITERATURE -CITED: BUEWR, H.K., HAFU?lOOftlI, A.M., LOCK, J.A. , 1959. Using Drugs to Control Game, -Wild -'Life 1:4, HEUSELE, W.P., 1961. Immobilization of Captive Wild Animals, --Vet. kd., 56 :8. SHEEP SKULL STUDY

John H. Kiger, Assistant Refuge Manager Bureau of Sport .Fisheries and Wildlife Desert. Game Range Us Vegas, Nevada

Skulls or parts of skulls and other bones of the Nelson bighorn sheep have been colleoted on the Desert Game Range through the years. Hm- ever those we now have largely represent collections within the past three years. Dr. Charles G. Hansen, our Biologist, has given speoial attention to promoting this projeot. He has already used skull data in studies relating to mortality, ageing techniques, horn growth and distribaldon.

Ninety-two rams, 60 ewes and 15 lambs are represented in our present skull collection. Of this number 28 rams, 29 ewes and eight lambs are also represented by the lower jaws and one or both horn sheaths*

We find most of the skulls more or less accidentally while performing other duties. Ve have made it a practioe while in the field to keep an eye out for mortalities. We estimate that 90 percent of the skulls have been found in washes. Of the remaining 10 percent 90 percent are lamb and ewe skulls. Pmsent reoords do not indicate whether other remains were found with eaoh skull. In my experience quite a number of skulls, especially those from sheep having been dead several yeass-,-am-not-aocompanied -by- any--othe r-parts-of -the -caroass.--The location of skulls on this area no doubt depends to a great extent on the occurrence of cloudburst type rains whioh cause flash floods through the washes. For a more accurate determination of where a mortality occurred we should consider whether or not other remains aocompany the skull. No doubt some of the skulls are washed for some distance down canyon so that the looation or habitat where they are found may not indicate where the animal died. This would especially be true of ewe and lamb remains

When WB fid a mortality, we of oourse record all the pertinent data and if possible retrieve at least the skull, lower jaws, and horn sheaths. If for some reason we &me the material in the field, a numbered mtal tag is attached for identification. Sheep skull colleotions are recorded as a mortality on 5 x 8 inch cards. These . oards include space for the identifioation number, date, sex, age, how acquired, collector, place and habitat, parts colleoted, bone and teeth condition, oause of death and hm lung dead. These items are usually fairly evident exoept cause of death and time elapsed sinoe death. As indicated in a report by Dr. Hansen, in 90 percent or nore oases we have not been able to determine the cause of death. In the same report he ooncluded from studies mde that the time elapsed since death can be estimated quite accumtely for the first four years Various tooth disorders have been noted quite frequently among sheep mortalities on the Desert Game Range. Many of the older animals show missing teeth and badly worn and deaayed teeth. In some oases the teeth matah very poorly. Several skulls we now have show indications of bone infeation, espeoially around the base of the horns.* Several skulls on display for this group reveal various abnonnalities~

For what it is worth I have a summary of where most of our skulls were found in regard to habitat type. Keep in mind that this breakdown on where skulls were found may not coinoide with where the animals died. As it is, our present data has made no allmanoes for this. Another point to aonsider that hasn't been oalculated is the peroentage of time spent by personnel within the various habitat types. For the present , time the aotual area distribution may have more signifiaance from the management standpoint. Any any rate here are a oouple of breakdowns-

Ths first series oonsists of mortalities for whiah we have specifia habitat data and inoludes most of the skulls we nm hm in the oolleotion (table 1).

Table 1

Bighorn sheep mortalities by habitat type** . -me8 -Ram3 -Iambs -Total

- -- Yellm=H=ne=- -. -3------6--- Pinion-juniper 11 27 Juniper 1 2 Juniper-Joe hua 7 5 Joshua 2 3 37 Jos hua-areos ote 1 1 Creosote -2 -1 Totals 48 79 14 141

Another breakdm mas made from older mortality reoords in whiah only the general location desoription was given but acourately enough to permit a fair determination of habitat type (table 2).

*The Desert Game Range skull display was presented showing sex and age groups, tooth and bone eberrations, infeotions, eto.

**The ewes and rams ranged in age from 2 to 15 years and lambs from 2 to 6 months. Table 2

~i~hornsheep mortalities by habitat type -Ewes -Rams -Lambs -Total YelLm Pine 5 12 2 19 Pinion-juniper 2 3 58 6 87. Joshua -26 -67 -18 -111 Totals

The reoords shw tht mat mortalities were found at the elevation of the Joshua type.

F'rom the standpoint of management there is no doubt moh valuable information obtainable from the skulls per se and their ooourrenoe as related to various environmental faobrs affecting oharaoteristios of the population. When speaking here of skulls we are including the lower jaws and horn s heatha.

1. Importanoe of tooth disorders, rear, and bone infeotions as mortality faotors. - 2- Variations between age and sex groups and individuals within a-fhrbgard-to-t-es~---o-o-n-diti-O-n-* ------groups -*--

3. Relation that seasons of year, weather cyoles, and habitat - oonditions may have on natural mortality.

4. Other skull ageing oriteria such as possible degree of suture ossifioation and rates of bone growth.

5. Reason for disproportionate sex composition of skulls found.

6. Horn growth (possible omrelation with habitat- conditions).

7. Rate of deterioration in the field under various exposures.

8. Obtain all skull measurements and note espeoially those that may express certain dif ferenoes between sexes and ages 0

Several other suggestions of possible merit for the Desert Game Range may bet - Determine a sys tematio method fbr mortality surveys.

Obtain and prepare good specimens representing all age and sex olasses for study and display purposes.

Compare sheep observations and mortality reoords with regard to looation by sex and age.

Obtain Boom and Crookstt head measurements for hunting regulation pWp08 68 b Tommy La Hailey, Biologist 1/ Texas Game and Fish Commission

.The program for trapping desert bighorn sheep on the Kofa Game mge in Arizona and transplanting these sheep to a holding pasture on the Blaok Gap Wldlife Management Area was initiated in 1954. An agreement between the Fish and Wildlife Servioe, Tildlife Management Institute, Boone and Crookett Club, and the Arizoqa and Texas Game and Fish Cdssions cgmprised the ombined efforts af this project.

The holding pasture, located on the Black Gap PCildlife Management Rrea, whioh oonsists of 427 acres was designed to confine the sheep and to provide protection fram predators. The fence around the enclosure is 8 feet high and is constructed of heavy gauge mesh and barbed wire. Around the top of the enolormre fenoe, as an added protective measure, an eleotric wire has been installed and oonnected to two eleotric fenoe ohargers powered by two 6-volt batteries. The, batteries are changed at 2-week intervals and recharged. Predator oontrol measures are carried out in the vioinity of. the pasture to provide maximum protection for the sheep. During the time in whioh the project has been in operation, 23 mountain lions, 46 bobcats, and 65 coyotes have been removed from the surrounding area. In our tmpping operations we are restricted to the use of steel traps, using blind sets; no dogs are allowed on the area. To our knowledge, no sheep have been

--&Amrs._ __- - -- __ ___ - - _- - - - - __ -- - - _- _ _ -__ - Since the first bighorn sheep was placed in the enclosure in 1957, the pasture has provided ample forage and water. We have had no shortage of vegetation for the animals other than the paucity of green feed during annual - dry periods. The enolosure has an abundance of feed available to the sheep

sps.),

other speoies of vegetation are also available to the sheep throughout the year. -h 1957, 1958, and 1959, when the sheep were being moved to the holding pasture, different types of feed were provided for the animals near the watering sites, but little was consumed. Cottonseed cake (range dubes), oats, alfalfa hay,-and cut sotol were furnished, but only the sotol was taken by the sheep. The only feed supplement that is being provided for the sheep now is a Moormanls 33-pound block of .concentrate containing all the essential minerals plus vitamin A, Tfirramycin, and a salt content of .14 per cent.

A review of the number of sheep moved to Texas and the reporduction of -l/ work conducted under Federal Aid Project W-67-D, Big Horn Sheep Development. these transplanted sheep in the holding pasture through February 1962 was presented at our last meeting. By the end of lambing season in 1962, we had raised 10 lambs. Tnese lambs were produced during the following yearsr 3 in 1960 (2rams. 1 ewe), 3 in 1961 (3 ewes), and 4 in 1962 ( 1 ram, 2 ewes, and 1 undetermined). Loss in the adult ews herd has limited each year's production potential to three ewes per year. In 1960 and 1962 one set of twins was born each year. A ewe borned in 1960 gave birth to a lamb in 1962. This is the first recorded reporduction from our Texas born sheep. This partioular ewe was observed being served on August 21, 1961, and gave birth to her lamb on Febnrary 21, 1962. From these observations, a 185-day gestation period was recorded for the animal. As far as it has been ascertained, no Texas-born lambs have been lost. Two lambs have been observed in the holding pasture at this time. Both lambs were born on approximately Maroh 24, 1963. At the time this report was prepared our total count of captive desert bighorn sheep is 4 adult rams, 3 adult ewes, 3 yearling ewes, 4 lambs from 1962 and 2 lambs this year for a total of 16 sheep. PEe have six ewes that could reporduce. This is the greatest number of females 'available for breeding purposes since the start of the program.

I feel that the program at this time has passed one major obstacle, that of the sheep reproducing in the holding pasture. We have been suocessf'ul in raising lambs to maturity and in turn have had reproduotion frcnn one of these animals. We are aware that with the small number of sheep which we have that many complications could arise; however, the program has a brighter future than at any time since its inception. PKOGRESS REWR!l! FRDH THE KOFA GlWE RANa Oerald E, Duncan, Bureau of sport Fisheries and Wildlife Yma, Arizona

This report is in two parts and deals with activities conducted . primarily on the Kofa Game Range during the past year,

In the previous Council meeting, a paper discasaing winter lamb survey8 on the Kofa Game Range, was presented by George E~~ti.8. !he techniques and results of the five previous surveys were given, This year we again made the survey in the same selected areas, It was conducted Harch 19th through March 22nd with five men participating.

A total of 90 bighorn were seen in an area of approximately 20 square miles. Of the sheep seen, 12 were ram, 46 ewes, 29 lambs, one yearling ewe and two unidentified aheep, Seven of the rama bad-horns of one-half curl or less and the other'five, horns of over one-half curl, Six ewe?lanh groups were located. The ewe-lamb dersof these groups were as follows: 9-7, 9-7, 8-5, 644, 6-3, 2-2. The ewe-lesb rztk for %ha groepa was L00:?5- The ewe-la& ratio for the total number seen was 100 263.

The fikt day of the count was very windy and cold. The second day, somewhat more mild. The third day was quite wann and the final mining, cloudy and cool, Noon temperatures ranged from ------So&dgggmerF,orthe=%f i-m t-day- to-71 -degrees,Fr -on-.the- th.Jd0 It had rained -in the survey area on the 17th. Some 'of the larger tanka were recharged and water was found in many mall rock depressions.

The survey was conducted entirely on foot, the most effective way we know of to cover the terrain in which we am nost likely to encounter ewe-lamb groups, This method may not necessarily hold true on other amas or in locating rams, In some instances, after having located a ewe-lamb group, it has taken as long as an hour or more to accurately count the number of animals in the Otbr than in the ewe-lamb groups, five additional eves were observed, two singles and a group of three, One single had a:. distended udder and one of the group of three appeared to be pregnant. The greatest distance between ewe-lamb groups was five miles, and the least was one-quarter mile. Of the two closest groups, one consisted of two ewea and two lambs and could have drifted away from the other. In a discussion of lambing grounds, I believe a more applicable term is needed for these more or less isolated areas in which we find these ewe-lamb groups, Lading grounds indicates just that, a place of parturition. In reality, parturition is of very short duration. The rearing of the young in the early semitive period, the period in which we observe these groups, is the mom important and of considerably longer duration, ,It would-appear then that what has been considered lambing ground8 are in reality rearing areas, and parturition takes place in any convenient location within this area or a short distance from it,

Several questions, to which ue do not now have the answers, present themselves: When are these rearing are- selected, if such a sele,ction is actually made? We have seen groups of ewes uithout lambs in February. This would suggest that the sites are selected in advance of parturition of any one of the group. Is the site selected by any one individual or does the group as a whole make the selection? We know there are individual leaders of bands' consisting of ewes, yearlings and lambs, but is this leadership in effect prior to the selection of a rearing area? How large are these areas and how is it decided when the lambs of the group have developed enough for the--up-to-move- on?--It--is -reasonable-to-bel-ieve-that-the==---- - rearing area is extended as the lambs gain strength and knou- ledge, but exact boundaries are not known. The actual determining imuence to move on may be an outside one, or a combination of influences including lack of feed or fear of remaining in one location longer than necessary to rear the young beyond the critical early stage of development, I would like to relate an occurance of behavior in a ewe-lamb group which includes.the apparent use of a nbaby-sittern, and possible training activity, In this instance the %itterw, a ewe, appeared to be accepted as such by the lambs. This ewe, having lain down for about 20 minutes with the lambs, got up and began to browse away. The other ewes were close to the lambs but not in sight of the observer. The nsittern had covered a distance of about 50 or 60 yards when the lambs arose as a group and ran after her, This was followed by a short period of vigorous rock climbing cul.minating*na feeding period in which each lamb joined its respective mother, a11 moving off in more or less aeparate directions of their individual choosing. For one reason or another, one ewe apparently became alarmed and ran from the group, The lambs, without waiting for their mothers, ran after the alarmed ewe. A11 but one of the ewes followed. After moving off for perhaps 200 yards, the alarmed ewe stopped and was joined by the others, All began to feed.

Now was this alarm actual, or staged for the benefit of training the lambs? If there is actual training of lambs, is it entirely the individual mother's responsibility, a group responsibility, or is an older mature ewe responsible for certain stages of the -early training?

These are only a feu of the many questions that have arisen as a result of these surveys. I have not attempted to answer them, only to list some possibilities which have been suggested through observations. We are beginning to gain an insight into the social structure of one of the most important phases of the life history of the bkghorn. If we have gained nothing more from these surveys, they have raised many questions which need to be answered; qagstiom which would possibly not ban aecumd to us otheniae. Observations of the nature we are obtaining on these surveys will bring out the questions and some of the answers, More intensive study will be required to fully understand the behavior of the bighorn during this important period of their lFfe,

-wATERTERDmmT ------

Water development for desert bighorn sheep has been' one of the major managemnt practices on the Kofa and Cabeza Prieta Game Ranges since these areas were established in 1939. We have several good developments and some not ao good. We have corrected deficiencies in some of our earlier work and others have been written off to experience. For the most part, the shaft-type tank, blasted out of solid rock, has been the most satisfactory from the standpoint of acceptance by bighorn, reduced evaporation loss, storage capacity, and minimum of maintenance. For the past few years this is the type we have been concentrating on in our water development program.

There are four requirements that ahould be met in selecting a site for this type of development; north exposure, solid rock waterway, good rock structure along side the wateruay into which the shaft can be sunk, and a fairly clean watershed which need not be too large, It is possible to compromise somewhat on these requirements and atill have a good tank. It is far better to spend the extra time in locating a desirable site than to make adjustments for a poorer one,

Three tanks of this type were developed this year, two on the Kofa and one on the Cabeza Prieta Game Range. Sites were selected on the basis of the most pressing needs at the time. Two main tanks in the Castle Dome Mountains on the Kofa Game Range went dry in August of last year, .These were Little White Tanks and McPksarson Tank, approximately four miles apart and the only large tanks in the central portion of these mountains, Water could be hauled to Little White Tanks but this is one of the problems we are trging to eliminate, It was decided to develop additional water storage at Little White Tanks for the following'reasons: The main existing tank is exposed to direct sunlight from late morning through most of the afternoon, deer we of tfie water is considerable, and the site was easily accessable by vehicle. The new development was completed in 21 days at a cost of approximately $2,800, The tank when filled will hold about 9,000 gallons of water.

The other tank developed on the Kofa Game Range this year is located in the same mountain range approximately three miles from Little Whi&e Tanks and a little further fron McPhearson Tank, The three tanks form a nearly equilateral triangle. Al- though of the same type, an addition was made here that wasn't necessary at Little White Tanks. This was a deflection wU1 and -- -- s$4-l-to--deRect the-sand-and rock-carded -by--the-runofX=,-away------from the mouth of the tank. In a heavy runoff, as the water rises in the wateruay, it will spill over the sill and enter the tank relatively free from sand and rock. To collect as mch water as possible from light runoffs, several amall'pipe were placed through the wall and ~$11near the base, As an example of the effectiveness of these pipes, a moderate rain fell in the area on Harch 17, resulting in a light runoff in this drainage. Approximately LSO gallons of water was collected in the tank. T-&. ta&, .which was named Saguaro Tank, will hold approximately 11,000 gallons when filled. The cost was $3,100.

On the Cabeta Prieta Game Range the greatest need appeared to be an addition to an old established natural tank series, Cabeza Prieta Tanka. Rather than disturb the natural basins, a side drainage was selected which provided the necessary requirements. A deflection wall and sill, similar to that at Saguaro Tank, were constructed here. This new development will also hold about 11,000 gallons and provide needed water in this very critically dry section of the Game Range. The cost was about $3,500. This development took thirty days to complete. The increased cost and time was due to increased distance from Yuma 'and the const rnction of one-half mile of access road,

A crew of four men, forem, powderman, and tuo jackhammer oper- ators, worked efficiently on these three projects with little time lost. Because of the diatance'from Yuma to the development sites, the men worked 10 days at a time and were off four days. The use of additional labor and cost saving equipment, such as an air leg to aid in drilling and a scraper to remove most of the muck, were employed.

Although these tanks are constructed primarily for bighorn sheep use, they are of vital importance to other fom of wildlife as well. There are few tanka on the Kofa Range that are not utilized by deer. Practically all of the tanks on both Game Ranges are utilized by mourning and white-winged doves, quail and a large variety of other birds, &en the coyote, fox and bobcat are frequent users of these waters, Although we have more or less standarized the shaft-type tank in our bighorn water development program, continued improvements will be made on earlier work and on natural tanks where improve- ment is practical fma tha staiidpaiiit of aeed aad cost. .h- pmvement of springs and seeps is also included in the overall uater development program, BIGHORN SHEEP ON THE DESERT GAPE hiGE, irEViiDii

William C. Reff alt

Wildlife. Management Senior Colorado State University

I would first like to make grateful acknowledgement to Dr. Charles G. Hansen, Wildlife hnagement Biologist, Desert Game Range, Nevada; Dr. Hansen originated the idea for this study and made many helpful suggestions throughout the project. I would also like to thank Mr. Newell B. Elorgan, Refuge Iha- ger, Desert Game Range and Program Chairman of the Desert , Bighorn Council, for inviting ne to the Desert Bighorn Council Fleeting. Finally, I want to thank the Colorado State University Forestry Qub for sponsoring my trip to the council meeting. mTRODUCTION -

--- - Review- of- Literature .--In- reviewing - the literature- on-the- ,------subject of dzert bighorn (Ovis canadensis nelsoni, 2. 2. mexicana) water requirements, one finds a limited amount of quantita- -tive data has been collected, Halloran and Deming (1956) state that water is a limiting factor for desert bighorn opulations. Jones, Flittner, and Gard (1957) state that water is the major factor in determining bighorn distributions. Koplin (1960) refers to some of the work done by the ~chmidt-h.elsons on water metabolism of terrestrial vertebrates and attempts analogies between desert bighorn and other desert fauna. Several other references could be cited fron the Desert Bighorn Council h- ceedings regarding the need for more water developments on the desert areas. However, Van den Akl-er (1960)~Wood (1962) and Koplin, in his 1960 paper, dl indicate the lack of definite ' information concerning bighorn water requirements and habits. !?elles and Yelles, in their 1961 publication representing more than six years of study poifit out this lack of information on water requirements. They also ?resent data that they collected at a waterhole over a period of a month; data that may give managws a firm basis for their summer waterhole counts.- Mr. Norman M. Simmons (wildlife Management Biologist, U. s.;. W. S., Cabeza Prieta Game Range, Arizona) is currently involved in a project that may add significantly to our knowledge of bighorn mobility, ecology and water requirements.

Objectives.--In light of the apparent need for quantitative data and with the suggestions of Dr. Hansen, I conducted a study during July, Bugnst and September, 1962 on penned desert bighorn (0.- c. nelsoni). The study was carried out at the Corn Creek Field starion of the Desert Game Range and had the following objectives:

(1)- To determine, under adequate control, the effect(s) . resulting from various periods when water is withheld from a penned bighorn.

(2) To attempt to correlate drinking time with the amount of water taken, using the data collected at the close of each nno-waterll period. (3) To determine, if possible, the maxim& "no-watern period the sheep is capable of withstanding without undue strain to the physiological processes of the animal. -

The sheep used in the eqeriment were siblings born in captivity at the Field Station. The primary test animal (~erry)was - four years old and the secondary sheep (Crip ) was five. The sheep ------were-located-in-adj acent -wire - pens--of appro;dmately -equal----size~------A shelter in the--southwest corner of each pen pr'bvided shade and a feed box on the east side of each pen provided nourishment.

Jerry received water in a five gallon bucket which was weighed and filled each day. Cripls water supply was a 55 gallon drum cut in b2.f and set in the ground at the northeast corner of the pen. A recording hydrometer had been installed so that water fluctuations . in the dmcould be measured; thus su?plying data on approximate amounts of water consmd, the time of drinking, and the appoximate amount of daily evaporation. Evaporation data were also collected from a five gallon bucket of the same type in which J&ry received water. This bucket was also weighed and filled each morning.

Ufalfa hay and oats were fed each day. This food was weighed . before it was placed in the feed box and again the follo1Jing morning to determine consumption. In general, the sheep were offered from 43 lbs. to 6s lbs. of hay per day. - ??aturslvegetation within the two pens vas not equivalent. Jerry's pen contained a greater abundance and variety of '$ant species than did Crip1s. Some possible affects of this*- be discussed 'later. The test animals were assumed to be in equdL physical condition and sufficiently similar in size, weight, physcho- logical and physiological condition to justify statistical analyses of the data collected. iio quantitative measurements of the above characteristics wsre made however and this provides a possible source of error. Crip had been injured as a yearling and his right rear leg crip2led. The affects of this injury on the test results are unknown; however it is believed that the injury would not affect the results significantly. - Jerry was the only animal used for the various length'ho-watert1 periods. The procedure used for these tests may be outlined as follows:

A. Water was withheld for periods of 24, 48, 72, and finally 96 hours.

(1) At the end of each test period, water ms given and the anomt of water consumed, and the time of actual drinking were recorded. - (2) Notes az the geile~alappearance of the aaiiiial, his response to the observer and the water, and his post-drinking actions zind behavior were recorded.

B. After the 96 hour period had been completed, the sheep was -

- put-on-- a schedule of consecutive 48 hour waterless periods, each- - -- terminated r~ith~-offer~~f~2~lb~oT~~er~~~-a attempt-to correlate weather data with the amount of water taken.

Crip was brought into the experiment in August, 1962. His watering schedule was 48 hours nno-watertl, then water as desired with the watering days running concurrent to Jerry's 48 hour schedule. The second animal was brought into the eqeriment in an attempt to arengthen the statistical analyses of the data.

The data collected from the tests were then subjected to several statistical analyses including regression analysis, the binomial test for equal means, and an analysis of variance. Some of the data were also put on punch cards to aid in analysis.

Zhe scatter diagram (Fig. 1) shows the computed regression lines for the drinking time - amount of water consumed data. The coefficient of determination for Jerry is 0.948 and for Crip it is 0.810. This indicates tbt the tendency of- the sheep to drink at a constant rate is "strongn to "very strongn; however, you can

readily'see from the illustration and the slope coefficients for the respective liries that the drin!g rates do vary between the two test animals. I would like to make- note -here of the fact that -. in this calculation, and in all the remaining statistical calculations, the number of observation points and the sample size are both small. The sample size, especially, points to the necessity for continuing the project in order that the statistical reliability and therefore the quality of the interpretation may be enhanced. Observation points at both extremities need to be reinforced in number to provide a more accurate estimate of the populstion para- meters envolved. In the case of Fig. 1, a larger sample of observations at and near the origin may indicate a need for kmalbear rather than linear regression analysi so . - Ih connection with these two regression lines, a binomial ntll .test of equal means and an analysis of variance were applied to the data. The results, in both cases, indicate the possibility that the true means for the populations sampled are equal. However, since these calculations iwolve only the means of the sample, rather than the slopes of the lines, the results may not represent the characteristics with which we, as managers, are interested in primarily. Application of other statistical tests may result in a different answer regarding the two pop6Latioas. Fig. 2 is a scztter diagram for accumulated evaporation plotted against the amount of water consumed. The coefficfent of determination for this prediction line is 0.902 which indicates a %ely strong1r tendency for the sheep to consume an amount of water correlated to - ths amount- - ---a -.-- of evwrahon--th-ttha3-Occurredd 5Eiit&-laStt-=- - - time. I chose evaporatgon as a possible index of total weather stress on the animal, which might reflect the relaticnship between weather and the animal's drinkLng characteristics. It is apparent in Fig. 2 that either a curvalinear or an additional linear corrda- tion line intersecting the first line at the upper end will result as the observations at the upper end increase. A sheep must have a drinking capacity, and at that capacity, no matter how much evaporation has occurred, the sheep will be unable to drink more water,

As another aid in the analyses, some of the data collected were summarized on punch cards. Twelve cards ger day per sheep . were punched for a period of 15 days. Possible klationships were then checked and the results compiled. Although several possibili- ' ties were indicated, the limited number of cards punched (in relation to the possible total) allows insufficient reliability for conclusions. If more data are recorded on punch cards, the number of cards per day may be reduced because of the inordinate time and resulting difficulties of analysis resulting from 12 cards per day per animal.

As a supplement to the data collected, a record of tenperature and. humidity, determined xith a recording hygrothernograph installed near .the pens, was compiled. These dzta provided the basic material for the investigation of weather influences on the drinking behavior of the sheep. Notes were also taken on the general condition of the animals, their response to the trizls, and other details of a general nature. The sheep used in the increasing time trials (Jerry) remained in good health throughout the study. He did become thin and slightly hollowed in appearance, but at no time was there any indication from his movements, ap2ear- ance, or action, of undue. stress to the animal. The trials were discbntinued after the 96 hour (4 day) period in order that sufficient time could be allowed for the weather correlation attempt. Also, the four day period represents the average time that sheep in the wild will voluntarily remain away from water and thus ap9eared to be an optimum testing period (Welles and Welles, 1961; Graves, 1961).

Fig. 3 presents a summarization of all the quantitative data collected on Jelrg during the study. As you can see from the graph, the daily means of temperature and humidity do not apparently - correlate with the water con-dj however, there appears to be an inverse relationship between food consumption and water consumption. This relationship reaches its maximum proportions ~dthJerry during the increasing time trials. On the third day of the four day waterless period, Jerry ate none of his hay. During the three day waterless period, Jerry ate only 0.3 lb. of hay on the second

------*.- When~3~_&e~-rsre-p&on_the_ cons;~~tive_&h~clursche&iLe ,pIclurIclur -_-. the food consumption curve stabilizes somewhat. Consumption on the day water was given remains near 3.0 lbs. wkile the consumption on a "no-water" day was from 1.0 lb. to 2.0 lbs. Evaporation, as shown by the black cross bars also shows a relationship as exemplified by the regression line in Fig. 2. At thispoi&, I would like to refer back to a statement I made during the introduction, namely that the natural vegetation within the two Dens was not eauivalent in diversity or abundance. Jerry, after reciiviag water, &d usually move to&d the faf e~dof the-pen and as he went, he muld feed upon the dry stems of the shrubs in

his pen. He even fed occasionally while laying dorm. Crip was ' seen to nibble once or twice on some of the vegetation in his pen . but not to the extent that Jerry did. Neither of the sheep were seen to feed on the natural vegetation during the waterless periods. Therefore, I do not believe that it would dqress the food - water consumption relationship shown on the graph, but rather it appears that the relationship may be even more.pronounced than indicated. Fig. 4 is a representation of the data collected on Crip during the time he was on the 48 hour schedule. It shows, in general, the POUNDS CCNSWD OR EVAPOUTED w I-' fu OFNWCWl ted here .as

- . I- Water consmwd Accumulated evagoration . /- my cOpSumed * - Data qwsti&ble

Fig. 4. Summarization of data collected on Crip for the penned sheep study, Lug. 21, to Sept. 15, 1962.

164 same relationships as Fig. 3 does for Jerry. In Fig. 4 however, I have plotted the daily maximum temperature and humidity rather than the daily means which were used in Fig. 3. Neither'of these two methods of presenting the temperature and humidity data have as yet shown gross relationships.

I do not believe that the data collected in this pilot study Kill allow definite conclusions to be made. The study does point out several areas in which future study may be quite fruitful. To extrapolate these data into management plans would not be justified; however, I believe they do justify a more intensive, and exacting research project in which the sample size could be raised to the requirements and the controls could be statistically sound. In regard to the sample size requirements, I have computed estimates based on the standard deviations obtained in this study. There are two values necessary to the project: A. The number of animals to be sapled

B. The humber of observations needed on each animal

Qr computed estimates indicate that 35 animals should be sampled and that 35 observation points are needed for each animal. d project designed to meet these sample requirements and having good statistical control should be able to provide the desert, bighorn . manager with definite management techniques.

Water requirements of two penned bighorns (Ovis- canadensis nelsoni) were studied on the Desert Game near Las Vegas, Xevada during July, August, and September, 1962. The sheep were deprived of water for various periods of time and then the amount taken and the drinking tine were measured rfhen water was given. Data on evaporation, tenperature, humidity, food consumption, and general notes on the animals' condition, appearance and reactions were recorded. Regression lines were computed for drinking time - amount of water consumed. The analysis indicates that individual sheep have relatively constant drinking rates (r = 0.948 and 0.810) but these rates differ between the sheep. k regression amlysis of. accurmilated evaporation - amount of water consumed yielded a coefficient of determination of 0.902. This indicztes that possibly, with more study and research, the water consumed by a desert bighorn can be predicted from evaporation data collected during the period the sheep has been without water. I,ITERATUBE CITED

Graves, B. D. 1961. Waterhole observations of bighorn sheep. Desert Ifighorn Council, 5 :27-29. Halloran, A. F. , and 0. V. Deming. 1956. Water developments for desert bighorn sheep. U.S.F.W.S., Mldl. l.Sgmt. Ser. mt. No, 4, 12pp.

Jones, F. L., G. Flittner, .and R. Gard. 19.57. Report on a survey of bighorn sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains, Riverside County, . Calif. F .W., 43 :1?9-191,

JCoplin, J. R. 1960. New developments on uater reauirements on the Desert Game Range, Desert Bighorn Council, 4:54-57.

Dan Akker, J. Be 1960. Human encroachment on bighorn habitat. Desert Bighorn Council, k :38-LO. Wdles, R. E., and Florence B. Welles. 1961. The bighorn of Death Valley. Fauna of the Natl. Parks of the U. S., Fauna Ser, No. 6, 2k2pp. Wood, J. E. 1962. Ecology and the Desert Bighorn Council, Desert Bighorn Council, 6 :10-12. BIGHORN SHEEP IN ANZA BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK

Dalton E. Merkel Department of Parks & Recreation Barrego Springs, California

Before going to'any discussion on the Bighorn Sheep of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, it might be apropos to mention some of the physical features and facilities of the park.

Anza Borrego lies in the northwest portion of the Colorado Desert. It borders Riverside County on the north and extends south to within a few miles of Baja California. There are established the primitive style campgrounds, and over 450 miles of routes of travel within this unit.

The park consists of more than 480,000 acres and elevations range from 6,000 foot peaks to sea level. 'The geography includes all or portions of 14 mountain ranges with steep, rocky canyons; badland areas composed of the silts and sandstones of old lake and sea ljeds; large alluvial fans; dry lake beds; and over 40 springs or water holes.

In the higher elevations of Anza Borrego we find Coulter Pine, Incense Cedar, Scrub Oak, California Juniper, Mohave Yucca and the Chaparral plant association. On the mountain slopes and fans at lower elevations are Desert Agave, Ocotillo, Ephedra, Encelia and SaEia. The canyons and washes have Catclaw, Mesquite, Beloperone, Fan Palms, and Desert Willow (Chilopsis). -barrea-and-Franseri-a--are-wide -spread-in- most- arearof the-park, as-are-the------cacti and the annuals.

In addition to springs 8nd water holes that are scattered throughout, there are rock cavities which fill up with rain water and retain the water for several months of.the year. Some of the dry lakes also fill with water during periods of good rainfall.

Sheep and sheep sign have been noted throughout the park. They have been seen in the mountain ranges,and canyons, in the valleys, and even around the edges of the so-called badlands. The park is divided into eight patrol districts. Patrol rangers are assigned to each district and these men conduct informal game counts and help in the park wildlife survey. We are thus able to obtain good observations on sheep sightings.

During the summers of 1953, 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962, the, California Department of Fish and Game has conducted Bighorn.herd composition counts in the Santa Rosa Mountains. Portions of these mountains lie within the park. The 1962 count showed the sheep to be in good condition with the highest ratio of lambs to date - 42 lambs per 100 ewes and 61 rams.

One of the most important aspects of Desert Bighorn sheep in Anza Borrego Desert State Park is the impact of these sheep on the visiting public. Of the 700,000 plus visitors to this Desert Park last year, only a small fraction reported seeing any sheep. However, nearly all the visitors hope to see one and ask questions about them. Public interest is very high in regard to these animals, and it is amazing to note the enthusiasm of those people who are lucky enough to make an observation or obtain a photograph. Along with this paper we are sending two copies of the Christmas edition of the local newspaper which features in color a photo of a Bighorn taken in the park. The editorial on the reverse side illustrates the public's attitude in the sheep. We, who work in .the park, and the people in the local community, feel we have a'great asset in these sheep. The mere fact they are here arid can be seen once in awhile, provides a tremendous public attraction..

-It is hoped the sheep will continue to at least hold.their .own. By preserving their natural habitat aqd watering areas ,in the park as undisturbed as possible, consistant with goad park use, we-'will have an area where sheep can survive. The desert is being developed more each year, and more range and water holes are being lost to the Bighorn. In years to come, parks will have a most vital role in perserving bands of Bighorn in their natural state. ARI ZONA PROGRESS REPORT* 1962 Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunt R. A. Jantzen

The eleventh consecutive season on Arizona desert bighorn sheep was scheduled between the dazes of December 7-16, 1962, inclusive. Unit permits were authorized and issued by controlled areas as shown on the - attached map. The October Cuban crisis caused a conflict of uses in Unit 40B during the hunt period scheduled above. The Gila Bend Aerial Gunnery Range used by USAF and USMC training missions stationed at Luke AFB and Yuma, respectively, correspond closely to the boundaries of Unit 40B and overlaps to some extent in the western portion of 40A. In the past, hunter use of the bighorn sheep ranges within the boundaries of the gunnery range has been accomplished during the regular sheep season by close cooperation with the military users of the range, enabled by a formal cooperative agreement between the Game and Fish Department, USAF,, and USMC. The conflict of use was negligible. This year the necessary military readiness to deal with possible international situations arising from Py es ident Kennedy1 s ultimatum caused a cancellation of gunnery training for approximately one month. When the world situation eased, a res-ptioa of such training on a jazzed schedule resulted. Therefore, the eastern portion of Unit 40B was closed this year; and the western part rescheduled to December 15 through the 23, on the USMC part of the gunnery complex. Two of the ten permitees originally authorized for the unit were shifted to Unit 15. The statewide kill results by --huntinga~eaxver e -thus: -- -Area Permits Hunters -Kill O/o Success 15 7 7 3 43 16 5 5 3 60 33 5 - 5 0 0 39-40A 15 15 4 27 40B 8 8 3 38 41 15 14 4 28 43A 5 5 2 40 43B 20 20 3 15 44 & 45 -10 -10 -5 50 ' 90 89 27 30. 3

Hunters were required to check into and out of their assigned hunt area through a permanent checking station, as in the past.

The 90 permits authorized represented a slight increase of five over the number issued for the 1961 season. The resulting state hunter success remained at the same level as in 1961. For the last four years of hunting, the hunter success has stayed between 30 and 30.9 percent.

*Presented at the 1963 Desert Bighorn Sheep Council Meeting, April 2-4, Las Vegas, Nevada.

169 -Year Permits Hunters Harvest 70 Success 1959 65 62 19 30.6

The additional five permits this year were issued in a new area, Unit 33, which previously has been closed. Field.personne1 determined during the 1961-62 field work period that a limited population of sheep existed on the western flank of the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona which would support light. hunting pressure. That sheep were in this habitat has been known for several years. It was not until recently, though, that survey effort and resulting observations justified the consideration of a small hunt.. No sheep were taken. Hunters were not discouraged; however, and all five, when questioned, indicated a desire to try it again.

After the 1961 season and again after this past season, taxidermists in the Phoenix and Tucson areas were contacted to obtain the lower jaw of heads brought to their businesses for trophy mounting. Using the age criteri: published by Deming (1952) the following results were obtained:

1961 Season 1962 Season Sheep killed 26 27 Jaws examined 17 19

-Age: 48 mos. & over 42-46 mos. 34-36 mos. 22-24 mos. TOTAL

*Percent of those examined.

The proportion of young sheep in the kill (subadults ?) suggests that' the 3/4 curl criterion for legality does not necessarily insure the harvest of old, mature rams but rather that young rams will be taken as they occur in the population and to the hunter. That the sheep represented by the data above met the minimum 314 curl regulation may be assumed by virtue of ha.v- ing passed the mandatory checking station before trans-shipment to the taxidermists. This is not to say, however, that all were unquestionnably 314 curl or over.

The slender information represented by the two years of data is not conclusive, certainly. They do show management implications which should not be ignored and it is our intention to continue collecting age information bv this method. The significance of this information is bnat this time. ~t is iscussed here merely to add to what little infor- we now have on desert ghorn.

Deming, 0. V. tb. 1952 too^ dSVd0y~ZneIl~of the Nhbighorn !,+- sheep. Calif. Dept. of Fish a Game,

F 38:523-529.

Hall, E. Raymond ------1-%46=Mammals-of-Nevada,- Univ--of-Ga-lif ---.-- - -- . ornia Press, Berkeley, CalE

3N: December 7 - December 16, 1962, inclusive.

AREAS: Units 15, 16, 33, 44 & 45 combined, 39 & 40A combined, 40B, 41, 43A, 43B. (See 1962-63 hunt map for written unit descriptions. ) (See map reverse side. )

,L ANIMAL: Ram with at least a three-quarter curl.

LIMIT: One sheep in a lifetime.

:R TO Commission Order T-20, May 19, 1962, for status of wildlife areas in above

;KING STATIONS will be operated at Gila Bend, Kingman, Salome and Yuma in the Fish and Wildlife Service office at 356 First Street. Unit 33 hunters only will check 1 out at the Tucson Office at Room 210, Arizona State Office Building, 415 W-. Congress, ~n. Checking station hours will be in accordance with Commission Order P-33 and ted as permanent checking stations EXCEPT the Yuma Station will operate during the of 6 a. m. to 10 p. m. , and the Tucson office will operate during the hours of 8 a. m. I I. m.

I HUNTER must personally check in at a checking station before hunting and must ~nallycheck out before leaving the hunt area. Successful hunters must personally : the head and carcass through a department checking station.

ORN cannot be lawfully possessed outside of the specified hunt area unless it has the !r seal attached to the horn by the dhecking station operator. FAILURE TO CHECK

OF THIS ORDER IS A VIOLATION.

ORN SHEEP permits are not transferable and no refunds will be made after a permit ued.

BIGHORN HUNT AREAS are closed to all other hunting except migratory birds, small and predator hunters with SHOTGUN ONLY, and except that it shall be lawful for the r of a valid bighorn tag to take predatory animals. Bighorn tag is not valid for the 5 of predatory animals after a sheep has been killed. The use of dogs except for small hunting is prohibited. Unit 43A closed to all other hunting.

ERSON MAY POSSESS, while in a hunting area, any tag or tags which have been issued sther and no person shall use his tag or allow his tag to be used on a big game animal i he did not kill.

N THE METAL TAG has been mutilated or locked or transportation permit or shipping it has been filled out, the tag is no longer valid for the hunting or taking of the species hich it was issued.

:RSON DESIRING TO TRANSPORT or ship big game which was taken on a resident se from a point within to a point without the state must first obtain a special permit an authorized department employee and said permit must accompany the big game transportation or shipment. Big game taken on a nonresident license may be trans- !d or shipped from a point within to a point without the state without obtaining this .a1 permit'. 173 lower jaw. I NEW MMICO PROGRESS REPORT by Phil E. Freeman New Mexico Department of Game and Fish

DESERT BIGHOFPJ SBEEP

Desert bighorn sheep in the Hatchet Mountains are still at a low population level. Field observations for the past year and a two-day aerial survey made in October, 1962 produced no visual sightings of bighorn sheep. A limited number of tracks that were thought to be bighorn were observed on the southern end of- the mountain. A reliable report of a dead five-year old ram was received and two of our biologists found a dead three-year old ram. Cause of death was undetermined for the two rams. The number of bighorns in the Hatchet Mountains probably does not exceed 20 animals.

One of the two umbrella type water units that were installed on the southern end of Hatchet Mountah was destroyed by high winds. We plan to replace this unit sometime in the near futurz. The other unit has functioned properly and has received use by bighorns, deer, and javelina. Other water units placed on Hatchet Mountain have received .little or no use by bighorns.

~angeconditions have improved since the drought that ended in 1957. Deer are now low in number and have not made a noticeable increase from a die-off in 1957. Predators are scarce, particularly on the south end of the mountain,

-~e~-thc;;~he~ep-are~.mging.--The-~t.at~u~,~-of _bighorn-shee~ on the Hatchet - -. Mountains is not bright and we can only hope, that with improved food and water conditions, our remnant herd will increase in numbers.

BARRAEY SHEEP

During the 1962 hunting season, 46 Barbary sheep were harvested by 377 hunters in northeastern New Mexico. The low hunter success of 12.2 percent was attributed to snow and poor visibility during the first three days of the hunt.

Prom the first hunt in 1955 and through 1960, hunts were on a limited basis. During the six-year period 223 permits were authorized and 114 sheep were harvested. These hunts were held primarily to obtain biological data while the herd was increasing.

In 1960 the intensive three-year study conducted by Herman Ogren was completed. Reports of his work are sumrmrized in a popular style pamphlet entitled "Barbary Sheep of New Mexico" and in a technical report that will be published either by the Wildlife Society in a monograph form or by our department. The number of Barbary she-ep in the Canadian River Gorge in 1960 was estimated to be between 1,500 and 3,000 animals. At this time we desired the answers to two questions. One, "could the Barbarys be controlled by hunting?" and two, "do the sportsment of New Mexico want the animal?". With this in mind the number of permits were increased to 322 in 1961 and 432 in 1962.

In the beginning, control by hunting could have been hampered by such factors as roughness of habitat, wariness of sheep, and their ability to hide and blend in with terrain, access difficult due to large tracts of privately .owned lands, and getting enough sportsmen that are energetic enough to hunt. Over the years these factors have remained as problems but have not been insurmountable. We can now say that the Barbary sheep can be controlled to a large extent by special hunts .and probably completely controlled with general hunts.

At the present time the sportsmen of New Mexico are not overwhelmed by the opportunity to hunt Barbary sheep. In 1961 we received 298 applications for the 300 public permits and in 1962 we received 329 applications for 402 public permits. With further encouragement, all of the public permits were sold. The chief limiting factor to hunter interest is,the time and expense of a.n extra hunting trip. In time we anticipate that the Barbary hunts will become as popular as our controlled antelope and elk hunts. The main attraction of Barbary sheep hunting is the novelty of trying something new. In this case once the sportsmen have tried the.Barbarys their enthusiasm wanes as this hunt is no easy weekend affair. Nonresident sportsmen are showing considerable interest in our Barbary hunts. During the 1962 season we had hunters from 14

At the present time the status of Barbary sheep as a big game animal is still in doubt and additional information, that can be gained only with time, is necessary before a definite decision can be made. As time has progressed opposition to the Barbarys has decreased. Reports of their wide wanderings have decreased, crop depredation complaints have been nil, a population explosion has not materialized and Barbary sheep and deer are apparently living without competition in the Canadian River Gorge. The deer herd has rapidly increased since introduction of the Barbarys in 1950. To date hunting opportunities have been provided for 1,057, and 960 hunters have taken to the field and harvested 254 sheep. Unless some drastic limiting factor materializes the species has found its place in New Mexico. RESULTS OF BARBARY SHEEP HUNTS -

No. No. No. No. Legal PuSlic Landowner Permits Barbary Percent Date of Hunt Permits Permits Used Taken Success 1955, Dec. 3-7 14 10 24 11 46

1956, Dec. 1-5 24 10 34 5 15

1957, Nov. 30-Dec. 8 7 0 15 85 43 51

1959, Feb. 21-Mar. 1 35 15 50 19 38

1959, Sept. 5-13 40 15 52 16 30

1961, Dec. 1-10 300 22 284 94 33 Photo by FISH & WILD LIFE SERVICE CHARLES G. HANSEN DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL Established to promote the advancement of knowledge concerning the Desert Bighorn Sheep and the long-range welfare of these animals.

- DESERT B1GEK)RN COUNCIL Cornittees for 1963

ARRANGFMENTS COMMITTEE

Honorary Chairman - Dr. Enrique Beltran Aquiles Serdan 28, Mexico 1, D. F. Mexico Chairman - Manuel Foglio Jacarandas No. 1126, Mexicali, B. Cfa. Mexico Richard Weaver P. 0. Box 638, NFlznd, Calif omia Gerald Duncan Po 0. Box 1032, Yuma, Arizona

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

- ---- br ------&= Chairman-&-C- lWaUde--F d -- -- P. 0. Box 1032, Yuma, Arizona Jose Angel Davila C. Aquiles Serdan No. 28, Mexico, D.F., Mexico William Graf Department of Biology, San Jose State College, San Jose, California Newel1 B. Morgan P. 0. Box 440, Las Vegas, Nevada Bernardo Villa Department of Mammalogy, U.N.A.M., Villa Obregon, Mexico 20, D.F. Mexico

PUBLICITY COMMITTEE

Chairman - Jim Yoakum P. 0. Box 1551, Reno, Nevada Robert A. Jantzen Room 111, Capitol Annex, Phoenix, Arizona Richard Weaver P. 0. Box 638, Niland, California Tom Hailey Box 1228, Marfa, Texas Perry A. Larsen Box 1914, University Park, New Mexico Ramiro Garcia Perez Plateros Sur 1999, Mexicali B. Cfa., Mexico NOMINATING 'COMMITTEE

Chairman - Oscar V. Deming P. 0. Box 111, Lakeview, Oregon James A. Blaisdell Boc 336, Grand Canyon Arizona A1 Jonez Box 4336, Las Vegas, Nevada John D. Goodman Department of Biology, University of Redlands, Redlands, California Rex W. Allen P. 0. Box 518, University Park, New Mexico AWARDS COMMITTEE

Chairman - John D. Goodman Department of Biology, University of Redlands, Redlands, California Ralph E. We1 les Box 283, Beatty, Nevada Frank W. Groves Box 678, Reno, Nevada James A. Blaisdell Box 336, Grand Canyon, Arizona

THREE QUARTER CURL COMMITTEE

Chairman - Gene H. Wilson Box 436, E. Las Vegas, Nevada -- --=-char 1es- G---Hans en ------=- -=- St. Rt. 1, Box 14, Las Vegas, Nevada A1 R. Jonez Box 4336, Las Vegas, Nevada Robert A. Jantzen Room 111, Capitol Annex, Phoenix, Arizona William G. Bradley Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE BUSINESS MEETING April 3, 1963

The business meeting of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the DESERT BIGZIORN COUNCIL was called to order by'the Chairman, Mr. A1 R. Jonez, on April 3, 1963, on the campus of the University of Nevada Southern Regional Division, Las Vegas, Nevada.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read by the secretary-treasurer, Dr. Charles G. Hansen and were approved as read. Dr. Hansen also gave the treasurer's report, stating that there was a.net balance of $1,033.72. It was also moved and seconded and the motion carried to accept the treasurer's report.

Mr. Parry Larsen, Chairman of the Awards Committee, reported the Committee had decided to make an award to Mr. Oscar V. Deming. Mr. Larsen made the award and Mr. Deming gave a short acceptance speech.

Mr. Cecil Kennedy expressed the appreciation of the Council to Mr. George Barclay, one of the fathers of the Council, on his retirement from the government service. The Council gave a standing vote of thanks to Mr. Barcley.

Dr. John E. Wood, Chairman of the Technical Staff, gave the report of the staff. It was moved by Mr. Ralph E. Welles and seconded by Dr. Edmund L. Fountain and unanimously voted to accept the report.

Dr. Wood nominated Dr. Charles G. Hansen for the 5-year member of the -Tech~i=lXtaf f~-rep~ac~h@s-e_ll_f-wh(?~e-_~_ne_xear- te- -kd--wpaired2-_Mr.Ricbr-d - E. Griffith moved to close the nominations. Mr. Cecil Kennedy seconded and the motion carried.

Dr. Wood reported that the Technical Staff considered the one year Steering Committee no longer necessary and it was not voted to continue the Committee.

Dr. John Goodman was appointed Chairman of the Awards Committee for the ensuing year.

Chairman Mr. A1 R. Jonez presented a draft of a letter to go to various Sport Magazines regarding the illegal hunting of desert bighorn sheep in Mexico. It was moved by Mr. Robert Jantzeri, seconded by Mr. John P. Russo and the:motion was carried unanimously to accept the draft.

New Business:

Mr. Ralph Welles asked about theme of the official Council letterheads by Council members. After discussion, the group was advised that the various Committees would be provided with letterheads for official use only.

Dr. Charles G. Hansen reported on transaction publication costs. It was agreed that the present standard and format should be maintained. Mr. Cecil Kennedy moved that the Council hold the $2.00 charge per book on the Council Transactions until such time as more money is needed. This was seconded by 'Mr. Richard Weaver and carried unanimously. A request for photos for the 1963 Transaction was made by Dr. Hansen. [ Mr. Warren Kelly proposed that the Council dedicate the 1963 ransa sac ti on^ to Ing. Louis Macias of Mexico, who died during the past year. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ralph Velles and carried unanimously.

Dr. William Graf presented a resolution to the Council as follows: Be it . ,resolved that the Desert Bighorn Council go on record as opposing the introduction and liberation of any exotic ungulates without a prior thorough biological study and hearing for the need and advisability for such introductions. This was amended by Mr. Richard Griffith and others to read as follows: "Be it resolved that the Desert Bighorn Council go on record as opposing the introduction and liberation of any exotic-ungulates without a prior thorough biological study and -i' hearing for the need and advisability of such introductions and that the Secretarig of Interior, Agriculture and Defense, and other land agencies and Fish and Game Departments of the various states be informed of the resolution and be requested to adopt a policy with regard to the introduction and liberation of exotics and to take appropriate action regarding the resolution." Mr.-Cecil Kennedy moved ', and Mr. Norman Bishop seconded that the Council adopt this resolution. The Council voted unanimously to accept this resolution.

Mr. Gene Wilson was asked if he wished to bring up the subject of the 316 curl regulation and its appropriatness in law enforcement. Mr. Wilson stated that he considered the 3/4 curl law unworkable and after discussion Mr. James D. Yoakum moved that a committee be appointed to investigate the matter and to report back next year for the Council to take action. The motion was seconded and carried by unanimous vote. The committee is to be appointeci by the new Chairman. - 'P The Mexican delegation invited the Council to hold the 1964 meeting in Mexico ;$ at a place to be determined. San Felipe was suggested as a possible meeting place;$ - - - - Mr. -Ralph=Wel-les- moved-and-Mr . -warren-Kel-ly-s econdedthe- mo t-ion- hat-khe=Counci-I-+- y, accept the invitation. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

The threat to the San ~or~onioWild -Area in California was presented by : Dr. John D. Goodman. After discussion, Mr. Norman Bish~pmoved that the Chairman ' :. appoint a committee of two to draft a resolution to give the Council's view that the area should be preserved as a Wild Area and not taken out of that designation , for commercial purposes. This motion did not carry but was amended to provide for the whole group from California to get together and draft the resolution and present it to the Council on April 4, 1963.

. Mr. Gale Monson presented a resolution through Dr. Hansen, as follows: "Etesolved, that the Council recommend that several areas of good quality habitat on public lands be set aside as single-use bighorn habitat, kept free as possible from all forms of human disturbance, including camping, hunting, prospecting and road building." No action was taken on this resolution.

Dr. William Graf presented the Nomination Committee's suggestions for officers for the ensuing year:

Chairman - Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez Corzo Vice-chairman - Mr. John P. Russo Secretary-Treasurer - Dr. Charles G. Hansen E Nominations were open from the floor. Mr. Robert A. Jantzen moved that ithe nomination be closed, seconded by Mr. Richard Griffith and the ballot was lelected unanimously. k The Chairman closed the official business meeting. On April 4, 1963, the Council was again called to order and thexesolution on the San Gorgonio Wild Area was presented. The following resolution was voted ,on and accepted by the Council:

"Resolved: It be made known that the Desert Bighorn Council, at its seventh Annual keeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 4, 1963, vent on record as opposed to any future [alteration of the San Gorgonio Wild Area that will in any way modify its wilder- Iness character. ! I Furthermore: I If a hearing is held to determine the nature of modification for the future recreational uses of the San Gorgonio Wild Area, it is the wish of the ICouncil that it be notified of such a hearing so that the Council may be repres- tented by an individual empowered to set forth the views of the Council."

Dr. Charles G. Hansen Secretary-Treasurer DESERT BIGHORN COUN Established to promote the advancement of knowledge concerning +he.: Bighorn Sheep and the long-range welfare of these animals.

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE DESERT BIGHORN,COUNCIL A3: THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING, APRIL 3,1963 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Desert Bighorn Council go on record as opposing the :

introduction and liberation of any exotic ungulates without a prior thorough a ------= .- . ------= biological study and hearing for the need and advisibility of such introduct-

ions and that the Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture and Defense and other

land agencies and the Fish and Game Departments of the various states be

informed of the resolution and be requested to adopt a policy with regard to .

the introduction and liberation of exotics and to take appropriate action

regarding the resolution. DESERT BIGHORN COUNCIL Established to promote the advancement of knowledge concerning the Desert Bighorn Sheep and the long-range welfare of these animals. . - P. 0. Box 440 Las Vegas, Nevada April i6, 1963

FLELD & STREAM

OUTDOOR LIFE

SPORTS AE'IEIJ)

BOONE & CROCKETT

Gentlemen:

In recent years articles have appeared in leading sport magazines

_Atel,llng-of ~hunting=the-Qesergtr_BighomSheep -.in-Me~ico..~LChe .members --of % the------__ _ Desert Bighorn' Council are taking this opportunity to call to your attention that hunting Desert Bighorn Sheep in Mexico has been prohibited by law for over 41 years. Enforcement of this prohibition has been a problem. Until legal hunting of the Bighorq is permitted in Mexico, we urge that you review any future articles which tell of Bighorn Sheep hunting in Mexico.

We hope that you will review any article giving information on hunting in Mexico to determine if it complies with local hunting Laws.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please direct them to-the Secretary-Treasurer of the Desert Bighorn Council, P. 0. Box 440, Las Vegas, .Nevada, or write directly to the Director .General of Hunting in Mexico (Direccion General de Caza, Aquiles Serdan No. 28-3er. Piso, Mexico 1, D.F., Mexico.)

Sincerely yours,

DESERT BIGHaRN COUNCIL

A1 Ray Jonez, Chairman

Dr. Charles G. Hansen, Secretary-Treasurer Photo by I NEVADA FISH & GAME JACK R. COOPER t A SUMMER WIImOLE STUDY AT CARRIZO SPRmG WTA ROS MOUNTAINS OF SO- CALIFORN~

Mark F. Knudsen Department of Bielegy, University of Redlands

During the sumer ef 1962 at the Deep Canyon Desert Research Station, operated by the University of California at Rimrsi.de, and lecated near Palm Desert, California, a problem was undertaken Wch dealt with the sureraer distribution with respect to water resources utilized by Desert Bighorn Sheep in that anm. It was decided that equipment could be constructed which would give inf omation as te the fre- qyency sf drinking, as well as the quantity ef water taken and the time ef day when the watarholes were most frequented. Deep danyen was originally selected for several reasons; first of all, its inaccessibility, because its lmr end is cut eff, with a high wire fence, while its tmring, steep sides effectively re- valuable Alsm, duce the chance of equipment being lgolested or stelan. - as mentioned, the Deep Canpn Desert Research Station facilities, in- cludhg a house and laboraterg, iadke it ideal fer certain desert studies from that standpeint. Howelrsr, after making several preliminary - trips in the canyon, it was decided that sheep cancentratiens at the available waterholes in Deep Canyon were too lenr to be of value in suck a study. This was net due to lack ef water, but in part due to

- ef ------the fact that little rainfall.-- the---nl=-a- preceeding, monthstE e-p-s hader-m-tml left theesp-p------canyen - - -- - Sth a ~C~fty%T-~VeiefXt=1on. were so difficult te reach that it would have been virtually impossible to set up the necessary equipment at them er transport it to the site'. The summer preved to be very hot, averaging 1060F. during the day, and causing many ef the SQ-called permanent waterholes to become corapletely dry. Finally, after considerable. study, the upper spring at Carrize Creek was selected as the location of the waterhole study, which proved to be ideal, beth for its location and because of the pry heavy summer use by sheep. Also, it was adjacent to Deep Canyen, where much of the equipment was kept.

The prsject, as originally conceived, consisted of a simple float type masuring device which would accurately report the level of the water in ths spring, this infomation ta be recorded on a chart type recorder, with simultaneous records kept of the temperature and relati= humidity of the surreunding area, An added feature was a camera, remote- operated, that would auternatically take a picture of every animal using the waterhole. Most of these intmnts proved to be extremly expensive; as amsult, makeshift instruments were constructed with the idea that they would be able to yield all of the desirable information, which proved not always to be the case. Also, several instruments were constructed &ich, for one reason or another, proved inadequate for field use.

Providing power for the camera and other instruments was a necessary preliminary consideration. The most logical power source at first seened to be from storage batteries, if a sufficient number of them could be used at the lecation of the instruments. It was originally intended that the entire operation would run for a period of three days, at which time the batteries would be recharged and the film in the camera changed. Hewever, this proved impractical and a second possibility seemed to be to bring a power line in from a nearby hcation, which was approximately one mile from the spring. This idea was abandoned as teo costly and difficult. The third alternative, and the one finally accepted, was the use ef a small gasoline operated generater which would provide electrical pwer near to the source of the operation. A thousand watt output generater, which had a gas tank allowing it to csperate continuously for 2* hours, was purchased for this use. In actual operation a larger gasoline supply tank could be attached so that it was able to run a much lcnger length of time. This generater worked very successfully and previded an adequate source ef power for all ef the eperation.

Next, a device was constructed which would measure the height ef the water and record that data on a chart type recorder. It was thsught that a fleat device connected to a variable resister would prove to be the simplest and nost efficient. Gxperiments were also tried using a linear variable differential transfsmr. There was difficulty encountered in previding the voltages required for the transformer, thus, this particular device was abandened and a helipet was used instead. The cempleted device consisted of a plastic fleat connected to a steel rod, appreximately 2* feet long, which, in turn, pivrted an the axis of the helipst. As the water level changed the float would rise and fall, -- -- and-the=ce~espond,i,ng-t~g---of--the-~s-weuld-change-the=~sistance=of-- - the helipet. These changes in resistance were recorded an a Varian recorder &d calibrated for the varieus water levels. A circuit diagram is included in fi,pre 1.

Figure L.

Circuit Diagram

( All batteries are mercury cells ) When the installation was eriginal3.y undertakes, it was found that the waterhole was smaller than was expected. It was so situated , under an overhanging rock, that it was difficult to place a float in the waterhole so that it could be attached to the helipot. A 15 gallon galvanized tub was therefore installed at the waterhole and was filled once or twice a day by hand. The sheep adapted themselves to this system quite readily and seemed to shew no hesitancy about drinking out of the centainer. However, it preved quite a chore to keep enough water in the container, and Table 1. shows the water which was carried in te the container en the back ef the investigater, With the use ef the galvanized tub it was much easier to standardize the recording levels on the graph; alscb, there was ne werry of a sudden influx cbf water, which might eccnr in a natural spring. Figure 2 shows a typical drinking sequence at this waterhela. The recorder proved to be quite sensitive and worked very well fsr this particular project, but the results were senewhat disappeinting as very few sheep wenld come to the waterhole te drink while the recerder was in operation. This is pas- sibly related to the fact that the generater, when in operation, gave off a n~ise,although the generater itself was lecated sewral hundred yards a*, clese to Highway 74, where cars and trucks were continually passing by. An additional problem was that the investigater had to arrive early in the morning and start the generater, fill the water in the tub, and be an hand all day te fill the generater with gasel&%? t~ check the receder,

Figure 2. Drinking Sequence

Date Aw 23

A camera was designed ts be situated about 20 feet from the waterhole sa that the anhals ceuld be easily distinguished by sex and age with, under very favorable cenditians, pessibly additienal identi- fiable characteristics. It was felt that 35 wa would be the ideal size fer this instrument. There were several 35 IIRU cameras on the market which wuld hold an adequare ameunt ef film, alse eperate aute- matically so as te advance the film and ceck the shutter after each picture was taken; bwever, these were all too expensive for the bud- get ef the preject. It was theught that the camera should run at least 100 frames before needing a film change. Leica, Niken and Robot cmras all have models in production meeting the above specifications. But these are all very expensive. As a result, a 16 ram movie camera was modified te meet the specificatiens we required. The majsr preb- lera was in synchr~nizingthe camera so that infra-red strobe, far night photography, c~uldbe used. The camera used for the project was a surplus camera off an aircraft machine gun. It was selected for its light weight, ruggedness, and because it was operated to run en batteries. The electmnic flash unit had a recycle time ef nine seconds. When the camera ran at normal speed of 16 frames per second the strobe 187 would flash on the first revolution of the shutter and no light would be supplied until the camera ran for nine consecutive seconds, thus it uas necessary to pulse the power of the camera in short bursts everg nine seconds, Qrlonger.

It proved difficult to synchronize the shutter of this pa- ticular camera because the design of the case allowed little room fer additions to the shutter. An additional lens was purchased and the glass elements removed, leaving only the iris diaphragm and the shuttm. This was meunted in front of the lens of the camera as seen in figure 3, The shutter of the camera was removed so that the exposure of the film was determined solely by the exbernal shutter. The pewer supply was then adjusted so that immediately after the shutter was released the meter would be turned en long en~~ghfor the film to advance approximately the length ef ene frame.

The camera was a magazine type, which all~wedthe film to be changed quickly and also had the added advantage of being easily chang- able in broad daylight, The magazine held approximately 3 feet ef infra- red film, which was adequate for a 24 hem period. It was necessary to promthe fellawing sequence of events: 1. The presence of an aniaial at the waterhole must be determined, 2. The shutter weuld be tripped, 3. The film weuld -!;hen be advanced and 4. There would be a pericd ef nfne secends elapse befere the sequence could start again. This was done en a pragrammer disc of the contrel unit, as shown in figure 4. The f step ef the lens was adjusted so that the light source fer the subject was the atreim for both daytime and night-tims photographs. The whole camera assembly was meunted on a tripod that could be conceal------=a2* -f e-6 or ffrram7-he-Gte rrKO~G,wlEh th---l-eennSFt at :* 5ro-xima-te- infinity, The whale operation was triggered by a solenoid which, when activated by a photeehctric cell, started the pregr-r. As infra- red radiatien cannot be measured by a light meter it was necessary te determine the correct expesure by kial and error, and only after nnm- erous trials was a satisfactory exposure time discovered. Anether preblem was that the solenoid which tripped the shutter tended to be noisy when activated,

The programmed sequence was started by a relay connected te the pheteelectric cell which was reflected back and ferth acress the waterhole by a series of mirrors, se that when an animal appreacbd ard started to drink sem pertien of his bedy weuld break the light path and close the relay. The programer was so adjusted that if an animal remained in the light path its phstograph ~~euldbe taken evarg 12 seconds. If the animal meved out of the light path, the prqgrammr would contirme its cycle until it came to the begjnning of a sequence, at which time it muld step and wait for another animal to break the lighQl path, Iln additional )ss_sfiility, not actually installed, w~uldbe te have a clock in the picture, furnishing information en not enly the ani- ma Is drinking but the exact time ef day, sr night, when they visited the uaterhole. Because of the location of the waterhole so near to Highway 74, it was necessary to be in the area all of the time the equipment was there to prevent theft and destruction. A metal container was originally buried in the ground, in concrete, with an aluminum covering, as a busing, for most of the instrmments net right at the water- hele; however, heat from the sun was so great that it was thought damage might result to the instruments if they were left in such a closed container while operating. Thus, the instruments were left situated in the open air, approximately 1,800 feet from the spring and about 500 feet frctm the highway. This was far enmgh from the spring it was impsssible to hear the gasome 'motor by the Fnvesti- gaters at that distance while they were at the spring; hewever, it was rmt difficult to hear the metor from the hills surrcaundhg the spring. This was perhaps the reason sheep were reluctant te use the spring once the generater was in +ration, whereas., thy had no difficulty in accepting tb galvanized tub set ever the waterhole. In view of the above difficulties it is strongly suggested that recording devices be installed which eprate using a spring wound motor, with a bob-type flsat which Kill re~@rddirectly on the drum of a recorder. Met enly weuld a much slmplified instru- arentatian result, but it w~uldeliminate the necessiw fer the metor te ran the recorder, It also seems wise net te try to build the apparatus te run fer leng periods ef time remately. If the in- 8estigzter reallized that b mst be at the seem ef tb iaavest6~- tion at least ence, and gessibly twice, daily, the project could be made to @perate+mh more simply, The plewer source for the camera remaairs a pmblera if left te aperate aortematically. A number of storage batteries might be used ts power the camra and ather electronic units, taken in and recharged evexy few days during the ------operationr-3For&-day-time - ebservatibns-=re requjred-the strobe ------couldbe eliminated. la such case the camera might be hidden at a much greater distance from the waterhale, possibu equipped with a moderately pimrful, but inexpensive, telephoto lens, or operated by remote control maneby an observer hidden some distance away from tb spring, thas eliminating even the necessity far an automatic tripping &vice for the shutter. The pessibilities are, ef course, limitless,

Table 1, sbws the amount of water carried in and consun- ed by sheep during a period ef August 10-23, while the galvanized ta was being filled daily, or oftener, by carryine water te it by back-pack, It is net known, but is estimated that betwean 25 and 35 bighorn sheep were using this spring durhg the time of the investigation. Earlier Fn the smmr ( June 26-28 ) 15 sheep were counted using this spring in tw consecutive days ef continuous observation, during the summer waterhole census. At that time, l.2 sheep were coat- ed using the lewer spring in the sam canyen, Fhguro 2., &ch shows a typical drinking sequance, indicates that the sheep may visit the spring and actually drink for about an average time of three minutes and conan average of 1.4 gallens ef water at such a visit. This compares favorably with the summer water - hole count data that an average of about eight sheep calm to the spring per day if that in turn is compared to !fable I., which shows that an average of 8.3 gallons of wate? .-re consumed daily from the spring during the peried August 10-23rd. Thus, from data that are slowly accumulating, it appears that the sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains probably visit waterholes not more often than once every three dayk, remain at the spring actually drinking, a little less than five minutes, and in that time consume, on the average, about ene gallon of water per visit. It is hoped and expected that a madification of the above described equipment can be used to determine the extent and nature of water use by Desert Bighorn Sheep as an adjunct to other studies 3n progress on these animals by the Department of Biology of the Univer- sity of Redlands, under the direction sf Dr. John D. Goodman, and m der whose direction the present investigation was undertaken. Water Carried in te, Upper Water Taken frm Spring Carrizo Spring by Bighern Sheep

Date- Gallons - . Date- Gallens A~mt9 : ., 1Q.O August 10 5.5 . - August 10 . . 7.x

Am15 8 -3 August 16 11eO

A@ 17 7 03

A@ 18 3 eo August 19 U.0

August 19 6eo August 20 3 e7

A@ 21 6,0 August 22 12 el -. > .

August 22 7 00 A€lgast 23 73 e7 . - 23 5.3 Total 99,7

Tetal me3 Average sf 8.31 day Figure 3. .Automatic Camera showing accessory lens attachments. SOM3 COMMENTS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP OF THE SANW ROSA MO~l3lSOF SOUTHERN CALIFORNX John D . Goodman and Nark F. Knudsen University of Redlands, California

The question of the present tAistribution of the Desert Bighorn Sheep is as interesting as are its prehistoric wanderings. Do they, as has been suggested many times, make periodic journeys from one mountain range 50 another? Do they make marked vertical journeys, from one altitudinal level to another, during certain tims of the year? If they do, and there'is evidence that they do, what are some of the factors that prompt these migrations? Ik it to find available forage, water, to escape enemies, to have their lambs, or a combination of factors? Is there a pattern that may be fairly uniform and distinct for any given range of mountains or any given group of sheep, or is it all more or less hap- hazard and unpredictable?

Another aspect of the problem concerns the physiology of the sheep. Beca use the Bighorn occupies both the deserts of the Southwest and also the high meuntaims of the Rockies and farther north, one wonders if there are any physiological differences between these groups. Assuming the Desert Bighorn is simply a - --race-that-was-strazlded-o~the-de sert-afte~the-last-ZcecAge,-has it developed, any distinctive physiologic& peculiarities to accompany the morphological ones it has certainly acquired? Is there - a significance to the fact that the more northern sheep tend to possess stockier bodies and smaller horns, while the southern sheep, particularlythe desert races, tend to have slight but Wgy bodies and smaller horns? How much do the mil. known and oft repeat- - eQ Bergmann and Allen Rules apply to Bighorn?

Authorities in the past have usually described the Big- horn as making vertical migrations over the year, travelling upward into rather high country during the sll_lmnr;r and descending to the lower parts of the range, the low canyons and foothills, in the fall and winter. However, though this may more of less accu- . rately describe the migration pattern of the Roc@ Mountain variety of Bighorn, it was seriously questioned by Goodman (1962) as it apses at least to the Bighorn of Southern California. & the Santa Rosa Mountains, the Bighorn Sheep occupy the low desert canyons during only the spring and summer; with the first touch of cooler fall weather, or almost simulataneously with the advent of late sumraer rains, the sheep vatiish practically overnight from the canyons after having spent the hottest sumnrsr months at this lou altitude. It could be asked, where do they go? NOW that water is more available, in potholes and sinks, do they leave to seek water elsewhore than at the permanent summer uaterholes? Or, is it a response to a drop in the temperature that elicits in them a migratory urge? Jones, et al. (1957) reported that ( in the Santa Rosa Mountains ) "bighorn occupy the lower country, generally below 4,000 ft. .. . Water is the primary factor determining bighorn distribution. In winter, when moisture is widespread and the climate is cool, the range is most extensive. In summer, the Santa Rosa sheep have not been found ranging farther than about one mile from available water." If, as marry suggest, and this is born out by our own experience, sheep are very difficult to locate once they leave the proximity of the watered summer canyons, is it not just as possible that once sheep leave the waterholes they trawl relatively great distances as that they travel relatively little? Everyone familiar with the situation can support the fact that as one leaves tb proximity of the summering canyons sbep sign becoms pmgressively older, fainter, and less abundant. This is true even in sunrmer. In winter it is even more evident that the bulk sf the sheep are elsewhere, Thus, although we agree Kith Jones et al. that in the summer months skep are confined durFng the hottest periods of the swmaer to certain canyons having permanent uater, or to their immediate proximitLes, it is not necessarily our opinion that with the termination of the hot, dry summer the sheep will be found occupying areas closely adjacent to their summer locations,

First, one must ask, wby do sheep ever desire to cow down to the lower canyon bottoms, nearly to the desert floor, in the early spring,' there to remab during the hottest,most -pleasant five months of the mar? Bound. as they becoree, .to the few permanent

-rings and t&s @these-lower &nyons, ihey become dulnsrable to - - predation and t o-poache r. ~~-iTisa&3st~be1lBVa61FtEt- ihey could have s&vived in the past if they possessed the same habits they now seem to possess. krly hunters were surely aware of their extreme vulnerability at these waterholes, plus their concentrations during the hottest time of the year. They would sure- lave lain in wait, days if necessary, and wiped out the entire population of sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains.It is therefore probable that in the past they remained much more scattered than they now are, visiting the lower canyons much less frequently.

Might one suggest that some attraction other than water brings the Bighorn down to the lower canyons in early spring? Possi- bly there is som primeval urge to congregate, maybe for the purpose of reproductiaa, not unlike the migratory swarms of insects or the concentrations of frogs and salamanders in woodland and pasture ponds in early spiring. Deming (1963) presented this as a possibility in his provocative paper at the most =cent Desert Bighorn Council, It has been noted by ourselves, and others, that the earliest arrivals at lawer elevations, or at least in certain canyons at low elevations designated YLambing cany~ns~~,arethe ewes, Only later on do the old rams make their appearance Fn the lower canyons, The ewes are, for the most part, bearing lambs at this early period, although how many ewea bear lambs in solitary isolation or in small bands, high in the mountains, as opposed to those in these so-called "lambing canyonsn, at low elevations, is unknown to us. A very real question can be raised regarding the use of the lower canyons at all. . It is true they contain in some cases a source of permanent water, but there are springs and waterholes at much hightr elevations, more remote and thus presumably less vulner- able to predation ( this point might be disputed, of course, as predation from mountain lions and danger from aboriginal hunters may have been fully as pat, or greater, in these locations ). It might be suggested that some use is made of these high springs and watering places, including more streams and rivers, but most obser- - vations are to the contrary, at least in regard to the springs. In the recent past these springs are used by some stock and probably have been traditionally used by deer ( there are very few burros in - the Santa Rosa Mountains, most of these confined to the extreme southern end of the range ). In the San Gabriel Mountains of South- ern California the sheep range higher most of the year, coming dawn mostly only in winter to the lmr canyons.

Upon numerous hikes through the Santa Rosa Mountains it has been noted that available forage and browse might be considered fully as important factors as water in detenoining the locations of Bighorn Sheep during the various seasons of the year. Indeed, it may be the primary factor in determining sheep distribution and in particular the primary factor in sheep use of the lower desert canyons.

Rains, particularly the light summer rains, may be very

loca-l--and-spottip&-charaeterY-praducg- d-iscontinuous-areas-later= - P- of practically barren slopes and canyons adjacent to areas much more covered with vegetation. Although the rainfall differential may be slight in adjacent desert areas, even a slight difference in amount or in the of falling may manifest itself in major proper- tions when the vegetation and topography are considered. This is no more apparent than when one travels along a stretch of desert highway for several dozen or hundred miles, passing by sections of alternately barren and luxuriantly vegetated regions, depending almost entirely upon the amount of rainfall received a few weeks earlier.

That forage rather than water might be determining factors in summer sheep distributibn was amply borne out by the observations of one of us during the summer waterhole study conducted in 1962. A comparison was made of conditions to be found at Deep Canyon and at Carrizo Creek, separated by only a mile or so of desert floor and both with permanent water. Deep Canyon, far the largest of the two, and indeed the major canyon, excepting Paha Can- yon, in the entire northern end of the Santa Rosa Range, has numerous waterholes, many of them permanent in nature. It is sufficiently deep and remote, as well as having its lower end fenced off by the Deep Canyon Desert Research Station, of the University of California, that it would be expected to support a very sizable population of sheep during the summer. Carrizo Creek, on the other hand, is in the center of a real estate development project, has only two questionably reliable permanent waterholes, upper and lower Carrizo Springs, and is not nearly so remote and inaccessible. In fact, State Highway 7k leads up through the mountains between Deep and Carrizo canyons and passes within a few hundred yards of both springs in Carriao Creek, the upper spring lending a pipe a fountain on the highway, not more than five hundred yards away. Yet, it is this spring that in the past several years has had continuously heavy summer sheep use, with concentrations of twenty- five to forty sheep being counted occupying the canyon area immediately adjacent to the spring. During this period sheep have been observed in Deep Canyon throughout the year, visiting some of the waterholes, and indeed some intercourse between the two canyons has been observed, with sheep being seen crossing over the highway on occasion. However, in the past several years no sheep oonoentrations like those found each summer in Carrizo Creek have been observed to occur in Deep Canyon. One must try to analpe the conditions responsible for this, if possible. - The observation that sheep concentration is heavy every summer in Carrizo Creek area while it is light in adjacent Deep Canyon leads one to speculate immediately that it is surely not the relati- abundance of water. However, upon examining the topography and browse conditions in the two canyons it is soon observed that the two differ markedly. Deep Canyon, as the name -- suggests ,=is=a=ve-rysteep-waUed-canyon,=approximate~a=half ------mile deep, with narrow, often nearly vertical walls. The canyon bottom is a series of steeply precipitous waterfalls, many of them dry most of the year, and impossible to navigate, even by sheep, for the most part. There are more than thirty of these dry waterfalls in a dozen or so miles of winding canyon bottom. The walls support little vegetation in most places except for a few species of plants requiring such habitat--Hofmeisteria, -Peu- cephyllum, etc., and the canyon bottom, though well watered in places, has vegetation only in the immediate vicinity of springs and seeps. Deep Canyon is part of the major drainage of the higher Santa Rosa Peak area, which is well watered higher up and rises to the surface in numerous spots along the entire floor of the canyon, almost to its lower end. It terminates in a very broad, heavily dissected fan or bajada, occupied at its extrem- ity by the city of Palm Desert.

Carrizo Creek is drained from the slope of Asbestos Peak, a lower ridge north of Santa Rosa Peak, not nearly so watered in its upper reaches. There is, however, a broad' expanse of high plateau contry immediately adjacent to the canyon, which is supplied with innumerable small jutting outcrops, sufficiently complex to serve as literally hundreds of escape routes across the plateau. This plateau, and the immediate area, usually receive some spring and summer rainfall, so that the areas immediately around Carrim Creek are much more luxuriant than the conditions encountered in Deep Canyon. In addition, there are escape routes back into lower Carrizo canyon from the plateau, as well as into Grapevine :anyon to the north, as well as up onto Black Hill and onto Asbestos Peak itself to the west. IkcidentaUy, it is this entire area that is at present being developed extensively for real estate, as has been reported by Tevis (1959, 1961).

A careful analysis of the vegetation might present evidence to support the theory that it is the winter and early spring rainfall, bring;ini: out,as it does most years, a luxuriant spring carpet of wildflowers and blossoming shrubs, that is the primary factor in attracting the sheep to the lower desert canyons in the early spring, The ewes are first attracted, then the rams later on, probably attracted there by the presence of the ewes. Both might, in the absence of excessive predation, find conditions not too ihtolerable, which, coupled with the fact of the presence of a few waterholes and numerous escape routes, cause' the entire gopa- lation to spend most of the summer in the lower canyon bottoms. With the advance of late summer, and the successive drying up of waterholes and the increased difficulty in obtaining sufficient vegetation of suitable nature, the sheep would abandon the waterho'1,es in the lower canyons at the first spposturaity to do so, travelling upward a considerable distance, if necessary, to find suitable browse. EWure studies on Desert Bighorn Sheep distribution should be aimed at tqing to relate the type and quality of the vegetation, as well as the quantity, conparing it with closely adjacent areas. Attention should also be given to the topography, in particuhr as it relates to suitable escape routes and facility of movement, when attempting to adjudge suitable Bighorn habitats. It is believed that such studies are necessary as a prerequisite be- for a knowledge of all the importark factors in Bighorn Sheep distribution can be properly analyzed. It is also believed that these are basic to any thorough studies on the ecology and management of the Desert Bighorn Sheep.

Literature Cited:- hming, Oscar V, 1963. Bighorn Breeding - Facts And Fiction. Trans- actions, Seventh Annual Bighorn Council, 1963. Goodman, John D, 1962. Annual Pligration in Desert Bighorn. Trans- . actions, Sixth Annual Bighorn Council, 1962'.

Jones, FredL., Glenn Flittner andRichard Gard. 1957. Report on , a Survey of Bighorn Sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains, Riverside County. California Fish and Game 43 (3). Tevis, Lloyd, Jr. 1959. Man1 s ~ffecton Bighorn in The San Ja- cintoSanta Rosa Mountains. Transactions of the Third Annmal Desert Bighorn Council, 1959.

Tevis, Lloyd, Jr. 1961. Battle to Save The Bighorn Range in Santa Rosa Mountains of California. Transactions of the Fifth Annual Desert Bighorn Council, 1961. A DYE SPRAYING DEVICE FOR MARKING DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

Charles G. Hansen

Desert Game Range

Las Vegas, Nevada

A spray device which makes use of keratin staining dyes was developed for color marking the hair and horns of desert bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis nelsoni, at waterholes on the Desert Game Range. The bighorn sheep on the Game Range come to the few and scattered waterholes during the dryest parts of the pear. The water sources are small and in many cases the water is piped into troughs for storage and drinking. In these situations it is necessary for the bighorn sheep to stand within a limited area while drinking. Therefore it is not difficult to set up this device and direct the spray at the sheep while they are drinking .pig. 1). The device is triggered by a cord stretched between the device at the waterhole and the observer sitting in a blind 80 to 150 feet away.

The nozzle for this device was designed to spray from two to four ounces of dye .at each "shot". This amount of dye covered an area on the sheep - - - ~~~~~~~~~~~6-by-24--inches-on--the -side- or-the--back - or-both -when-i-t--s tood-wi-thin three to five feet of the nozzle. The colors used were pink, green and yellow. The dyes were mixed with alcohol in order to insure penetration of the oily pelage of the animals. The dye mixture dries quickly and does not leave a residue to plug the equipment. It is easily handled and can be diluted to any percentage of alcohol depending upon the degree of penetration and consequently the brilliance and/or permanence desired. Fading may occur after several weeks under certain circumstances.

MA.TERIALS AND METHODS

.The following materials were used to build the device:

a. Spray tank. A 2-1/2 gallon, funnel-top, garden spray with built.-in pump was purchased for about $8.00.

b. Extension hose. if teen feet (or more if desired) of acid resistant hose was purchased from a sizeable auto parts store for about $0.50 per foot.

c. Spray nozzle. A 1/4 TT head made by the Spraying Systems Co. - was purchased for about $1.70.

An aluminum jet (Fig. 2) was handmade to replace the jet that is manu- factured for the nozzle. This aluminum jet was made from sheet aluminum about 2132~inchthick. The slot in it was made about 2132-inch wide and 318-inch thick. The slot in it was made about 2/32-inch wide and 3/8-inch long on the back side of the disc.and 112 inch long on the front side. Thus. the slot slopes outward at the ends. If the slot is so long on -the front side that the 1iquid.hits the edge of the nosepiece, the pattern of the spray will be erratic.

d. Metal bracket. This bracket was made of 3116-inch by 2-114-inch iron strap about 16 inches long. Four large holes were drilled

at one end to accomodate ,the ' "U1' bolt .in three different positions. Also, a series of smaller holes were drilled in the bracket to accommodate wire or nails for attaching it to a post or tree.

e. Accessories. The elbow, hose clamp, "U" bolt, trigger extension, cord and spring shown in Figures 3 and 4 are all items that are standard at any hardware store.

The dyes used were Rhodamine B Extra for pink, Malachite Green Crystals for green and Picric Acid for Yellow. The pink and green dyes were dissolved in alcohol. The manufacturer of,the dyes recommends ethyl alcohol; however 99% isopropyl alcohol is i'nexpensive and was suitable for this purpose, Picric acid was dissolved in isopropyl alcohol to make a saturated selutfem,

The following mixtures were used and found to be satisfactory when one gallon of solution was made: , a. Pink. Dissolvc 2 grams of 3hodamine B Extra in one-half gallon of-g-g%-~sopr~w-l-ac

160 degrees Fahrenheit. ' It can then be diluted to any strength with cold water. -.- b. Green. Dissolve four grams of Malachite Green in one-half gallon of 99% isopropyl alcohol; khen add one-half gallon of water.

c. Yellow (Picric acid is dangerous if improperly used, so read the label carefully). Make a saturated solution of picric acid in one-half gallon of 99% isopropyl alcohol and add one-half gallon of water. Approximately 25 grams of picric acid will saturate one-half gallon of isopropyl alcohol. A brighter yellow color can be obtained by using a more concentrated solution than the suggested half and half. This solution may irritate the sensitive membranes on the head of the sheep, so it is recommended that the spray be directed to the body only until further observations are made. This dye is the most permanent of the three.

d. Violet. Mix together various amounts of the green and pink ~01~- tions in order to produce the desired shade of violet. DISCUSSION

This spray device was developed for use in marking desert bighorn sheep during 3 to 12-day waterhole counts on the Desert Game Range in order to eliminate duplicating the count of animals. These dyes may remain on the animal until the hair is shed, and they may stay on the horns for . several years. However, the method was developed for observing marked animals over short periods of time.

Tlie .nozzle in Figure 3 was affixed over a watering source and directed toward the area where the bighorn sheep would stand when drinking. Usually it was necessary to use brush or rocks or both to limit that area. The spray can be directed to the front, either side or to the rear of the animal by changing the direction (Fig. 4) and location of the nozzle. On the Desert Game Range the nozzle was placed so that the sprayed dye traveled only three to five feet from the nozzle before touching the animal.

A nylon pull cord was used to trigger the device, but it has been suggested that light surgical wire be used. In areas where lightweight batteries can supply electricity a solenoid attached to the valve and wired to a pushbutton switch could also be used to trigger the device. RESULTS

There have been 74 bighorn sheep marked during two seasons of use. (Fig- ures 5 & 6). Observations of marked sheep after 5 days showed that the colors were relatively unchanged.

It was observed that when a sheep was allowed to drink for 30 to. 60 seconds before being sprayed the aniinal would soon return to drink its

---£=i=l-1.-Mos t=off fhe=animals-on-the- Desert -Game - Range -that -were-sprayed------=

returned to the water within 15 minutes to finish drinking. ,

The animals would jump back or to the side when sprayed. Consequently the further the spray had to travel the less effective was the angle of' the nozzle, especially when the observer desired to spray a particular area on the animal. Also the longer the distance between the sheep and the nozzle the less dye touched the animal, thus making a lighter color on the animal.

In one gallon of solution there was enough dye to spray 30 to 50 animals. There was enough pressure in the 2-1/2 gallon tank when pumped to capacify to spray 15 to 20 single animals. In many instances two or three animals were marked at the same time. BUILT-IN PUMP-) SCREEN ALUMINUM JET TO REPLACE POST STANDARDNOZZLE EQUIPMENT ON

FIGURE I SimpliFied sketch of dye spraying device in action. FIGURE 2 Exploded diagram of nozzle componemfs.

SPRAYING SYSTEMS CO. - %+ TT NOZZLE

METAL

hdes for fwustrnerl

ACID-RESISTANT HOSE' JA~INCH45 " ELBOW fl I POST STANDARD PIPE ?h INCH ELECTRICAL THREAD CONDUIT CUT IN HALF I I I FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 Schemdic diagram erf spray nozzle mounted ova deuert bighorn 8h.p watwhola