490
N. Meridian Road, Kalispell, MT. 59901
CONTACT: John Fraley 406-751-4564 (office)
REGION ONE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 27, 2012
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WANDERING CARIBOU RETURNED TO CANADA
A radio-collared woodland caribou that
wandered south into Montana from British Columbia has been returned to Canada.
On Thursday, FWP biologists received a report that a caribou
was dead in the Salish Mountains in Pinkham Creek south of Eureka. The report was based on a “mortality signal”
from the radio collar the caribou wore. The female caribou was part of a
woodland caribou augmentation effort in the south Purcell's near Cranbrook just
across the border. In this effort, 19
caribou from northern B.C. had been released about 40 miles north of the U. S.
border last month.
FWP’s Jim Williams, Tim Thier, and Tim Manley traveled by
snowmobiles to the caribou location based on signals from the Argos collar the
caribou wore. They found the caribou
alive but unable to stand. After
loading the animal on a sled, they transported her to the trailhead and then on
to a veterinarian’s office in Eureka. The veterinarian treated the caribou with
a drug to counter the effects of tick paralysis, which was the expected
problem. The caribou was also given two
bags of IV fluid to combat dehydration.
FWP contacted biologists in British Columbia and the caribou
was transported north. As of today the
animal is on its feet. If the caribou
recovers, B. C. wildlife officials plan to re-release the animal near resident
caribou in B. C.
FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams noted that it is common
for some animals to wander after they are released into new habitat. Fortunately, this valuable animal was found
alive and returned to wildlife managers in Canada.
Caribou were once native to Montana but are now considered
very rare. Occasionally, a caribou
wanders south of the Canadian border into Montana.
Contact: Jim Williams, FWP Wildlife Manager, 751-4585.
Photo Caption: FWP biologists Tim Thier and
Tim Manley secure a caribou on a sled in the Pinkham Creek area south of
Eureka.
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