Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks News

Winter Weather Has Antelope Moving

Motorists encouraged to be cautious along roadways

GLASGOW – Although the pronghorn (commonly known as antelope) hunting season is over, they are still on the move. The recent winter weather in Montana has triggered antelope into migration mode, with them often moving south. Frequently, this leads to large groups attempting to cross highways and other major roadways, and motorists should be aware.

As most folks know, antelope aren't the best at crossing fences or other barriers. Many times, this results in groups or individuals running next to a barrier or crossing back and forth looking for an easier path.

Barriers come in all shape and sizes and can be manmade or naturally occurring on the landscape. Some of the most common barriers include highways and other roads, railroads, fences, and even river corridors. Not all barriers impede movements at the same rate. For instance, some fences allow for pronghorn and other wildlife to cross through them much easier than others, while some are almost impermeable.

Along Highway 2 in northern Montana, areas have been identified that have frequent antelope migration movements. Several of these locations have yellow "antelope crossing" signs, including a few with a flashing yellow light. The intent of these signs are to alert motorists to potential antelope on the roadway, both for the safety of the motorist and the antelope.

Motorists should be especially cautious of these crossing areas but realize that antelope can cross virtually anywhere along roadways.

In addition, in some of these locations, FWP and other conservation groups have worked with some landowners to remove or replace fences to help wildlife move across the landscape.

How can you help:

Heed wildlife crossing signs, as these are placed in common crossing or congested areas.

If you see antelope (or any wildlife) on the road, SLOW DOWN.

Landowners that do not currently have livestock in pastures, please leave gates open so antelope and other wildlife can pass easily.

Plan for the future; If landowners have fences that are not needed, consider removing them. If woven wire fencing is no longer needed, consider replacing with four-strand fencing. There are many organizations, including FWP, that can help with this. Call your local FWP office for any questions.

Permit Required To Salvage Vehicle-Killed Deer, Elk, Moose And Antelope

Entire animal must be removed by permit holder  

Anyone wanting to salvage a road-killed deer, elk, moose are antelope must obtain a Vehicle-Killed Wildlife Salvage Permit. These are available at no cost and must be obtained within 24 hours of the time a person takes an animal into their possession. Permits are available either through law enforcement officers on the scene of collisions or online on the FWP website.

As a reminder, any salvaged animal must be removed in its entirety from the roadway by the permittee. The animal may be field dressed before it leaves the area but entrails or any other parts of the animal carcass must be removed from site to prevent attracting scavengers and predators.

Other things to keep in mind if salvaging a vehicle-killer animal:

Road-killed animals may not be tagged and possessed with carcass tags issued for the purpose of hunting.

Any person who is picking up an animal to be salvaged must comply with all highway rules and regulations while removing the animal. Vehicles shall be parked off the roadway and out of the line of traffic. The permittee acknowledges that collecting vehicle-killed animals on state highways is inherently dangerous and is undertaken at the permitee's own risk.

A person may not kill an injured or wounded animal that they encounter for the purpose of salvage. A law enforcement officer may, however, when on the scene of a collision, kill an animal injured in the collision and that animal may be taken for salvage.

Meat rendered from salvaged animals must be used for human consumption. It may not be used for bait or other purposes.

Meat rendered from salvaged animals may not be sold.

Any meat that is unfit for human consumption or unusable animal parts must be disposed of at a legal disposal site. It is unlawful to dispose of animal carcasses or parts in or upon any highway, road, street, or alley or upon public property. It is also illegal to dispose carcasses or parts within 200 yards of a public highway, road street or alley or public property

For more information, visit FWP's website fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/vehiclekilledsalvagepermit.

Swift Fox Survey Being Conducted In Northern Montana This Winter

Technicians will be out at night checking live traps

GLASGOW – If you see some lights at night north of Highway 2 this winter, it may not just be the northern lights. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks crews are live trapping swift fox from November through February, checking traps and handling fox during the long, dark hours of winter. Two two-member crews will be working, north of Highway 2, between Opheim and Havre.

Since 2000, and about every five years since then, FWP has partnered with Canada to conduct a survey to try and determine swift fox population and distribution.

The crews have been training the last few weeks to learn how to successfully trap, handle, and take pertinent data from trapped swift fox.

"We want to let folks know, especially landowners, that we will have crews out at night this winter, driving around and setting or checking live traps," says Region 6 biologist Nikie Hussey, coordinator of the project. "Crews will trap in a location for three nights and then move onto the next site."

Trapping will take place on public land and some private land. If you happen to come across the clearly marked swift fox live traps, please do not disturb them. They will be closed during the daylight hours.

History of swift fox in Montana

Swift fox are year-round residents, inhabiting shortgrass prairies. Largely nocturnal, swift foxes can range over several square miles a night. They breed from late December to early March, with a single litter of three to six pups born late March to early May. Young are raised in an underground den, emerging in early June and dispersing in late summer or early fall.

Swift fox were once abundant on the Great Plains, but in the early 1900s numbers began to decline in response to government poisoning campaigns aimed at wolves, prairie dogs and ground squirrels. Swift foxes lost a prey source in prairie dogs and ground squirrels, and when wolves declined, they couldn't outcompete coyotes and red foxes for food.

In 1969, Montana declared swift fox basically extinct locally. However, due in part to transplant programs in Canada, sightings of swift foxes have increased in eastern and central Montana since the 1980's. Currently, there is a sustainable population of swift fox that allows for a limited trapping season, with a current harvest quota of 10 fox, in a portion of district 6 in northern Montana for those with a valid trapper's license. It is not legal to shoot a swift fox.

This population survey is the primary method for FWP to estimate swift fox population size and trend in this norther-most extent of their range.

"It will be interesting to see what our populations are looking like at this point," added Hussey. "These little foxes are an important component of the shortgrass prairie ecosystem of northern Montana."

How you can help! Report swift fox sightings

In addition to conducting populations surveys, FWP encourages people to report any live or road-killed sightings of swift fox to their local FWP biologist.

Locations of swift fox can give biologists valuable information, such as better understanding of the distribution of fox and location of dens. In addition, studies are being conducted with radio collared fox, and any help in locating foxes and their dens is crucial to the study.

To report sightings, people need to be able to tell the difference between swift fox, red fox, and coyotes. Swift foxes are about the size of a house cat, smaller than red foxes and only about a fifth the size of coyotes. Red foxes are red, with some variations, and have white-tipped tails. Swift foxes have grayish-red fur and a black-tipped tail. Coyotes can have similar coloring and tail markings, but again are much larger. Juvenile coyotes could resemble swift fox at certain times of the year.

If you happen to spot a swift fox, please contact your local biologist and if possible, get a GPS point or accurate map location of the sighting. In Region 6, direct all sightings to Nikie Hussey at 406-808-7111, or email [email protected].

CWD Detected In A Cow Elk In Hunting District 622 South Of Malta

First CWD in an elk in northeast Montana

MALTA–Wildlife health staff with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks recently detected chronic wasting disease in a cow elk that was harvested by a hunter in hunting district (HD) 622.

This marks the first CWD detection in an elk in northeast Montana. This is the second CWD-positive animal detected in HD 622, the first being a mule deer buck that was harvested by a hunter in 2020.  FWP has conducted rotating surveillance for CWD throughout the state for several years, and HD 622 is within this year's priority surveillance area.

CWD is a contagious neurological disease that infects deer, elk, and moose. It is always fatal, and there is no known cure. It was first detected in Montana's wild herds in 2017. The disease is known to exist in other parts of north-central and northeast Montana, especially north of Highway 2, as well as in other areas of the state.

Hunters play a significant role in CWD management by providing test samples from harvested animals. FWP has provided resources to help hunters collect and submit samples for testing on their own. In addition, FWP offers several locations around the state where FWP staff will take samples for hunters. These resources and others can be found at fwp.mt.gov/cwd.

CWD is not known to infect humans. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people not eat meat from infected animals and have their harvested animals tested before eating them if they were taken from an area where CWD is known to exist. For more information on CDC recommendations, please visit go.usa.gov/xAcnc.