Alpinebullwinkle Report post Posted August 25, 2016 Just curious what everyone thinks the calf crop % is this year based on their outings in units #27 &1 ? Admittedly I have been disappointed post Wallow Fire thinking the nutrient benefits from the fire would bring back the birthrate and survival of elk calves to the 1990's standard of around 50%, which we used to see customarily on an annual basis. I haven't seen that expectation the last 5 post fire years, but this year might be close to the magic number from what I have viewed? What has everyone else noticed? I realize this is probably a two part question. The first being what is the birthrate % viewed? The other might be what is the survival rate by August due to predation impact, which now seems more impactful than in the 1990's due to wolves and coyotes? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alpinebullwinkle Report post Posted August 25, 2016 I should have added mountain lions and bears to the predator group as well. It does seem to me that we have had a population explosion of bears.......but that could be simply because the same bear levels are now squeezed into 50 % of their desirable real estate due to the Wallow Fire devastation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Str8Shot Report post Posted August 25, 2016 I have not spent as much time in 1 and 27 this year, only a few trips since mid June. However during those trips seen many herds of cows, with anywhere from 20 - 80 head, and all but the smallest one had over 50% of cows with calves. The Antelope Herds I seen also looked to have had exceptional birthing, with lots of twins and fawns almost outnumbering the does. Not sure how much better this year is versus the previous five years but I am sure you can find the numbers in the G&F surveys. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
