How much weather for Antelope winter kill?

[DoeNob]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-31-11 AT 11:40AM (MST)[p]I know last winter was pretty bad in ND, they cancelled their antelope hunts. SD and WY supposedly also had some bad winter kills. This front is getting pretty dang cold on top of some pretty nasty cold fronts already and the winter nationwide they are saying could be the coldest on record in the last 3 decades. So much for global warming!

So my question is what winter kills antelope? Is it deep snow so they can't get food and can't get around? Or periods of sustained cold that either freezes them to death or locks up water so they can't get anything to drink?

Planning an archery antelope adventure for next fall, but the winter kill issue is a major concern. Thanks!

 

[bucklover]

Great Question! After having lived through quite a few bad winters myself, maybe I can answer that. Just joking. However, I have spent a lot of time keeping track of critters over the years. I don't think the fact that they can't get a drink factors in at all. Here in Wyoming everything freezes up for months. They can get enough water from just eating snow. I think its deep snow that develops a crust, which they break through when trying to move around, but they are forced to work extremely hard in the process. That and very cold temps require that they need more groceries. The two combined for long periods is a death warrant for old and young. I've read in history books how bunches of antelope end up on train tracks because it was the only place they could move around. The whole bunch would be wiped out when the train came through.

 

[Zeke]

+1 to bucklover

My buddy has been hunting coyotes over bait (about 20 pronghorns that were killed this year by a train). He's done pretty well but it's too bad to hear a whole little bunch of antelope got wiped out.

I think the prolonged crusty snow is the death of a ton of big game animals.

Zeke

 

[ghak99]

>LAST EDITED ON Jan-31-11
>AT 11:40?AM (MST)
>
>I know last winter was pretty
>bad in ND, they cancelled
>their antelope hunts. SD
>and WY supposedly also had
>some bad winter kills.

I wasn't around to see the winter conditions that caused the kill, but last year I hunted Antelope in a South Dakota unit that probably should not have issue tags at all. As soon as we arrived the locals explained the past 2 winters had really put the hurt on the herd and we was in for a tuff hunt. We managed to get most of our tags filled, but looking back on it i have no idea why they issued over 100 tags and we probably should not have taken what we did, or even applied for the tags at all. If this winter works them over again I can't imagine the numbers being high enough to sustain much of a hunt at all.

I'm sure the locals were just ragging on the fish & game, as we all do our own, but they were claiming some of the head counts were coming back with 14 and 20 and they went ahead and issued over 100 tags for that unit.

I'm still looking to take a respectable Antelope, but I know what S.D. unit I won't be going back to for at least a few years.