48/49 Winterkill

elkboy32 · May 2, 2019

Hawkbill posted a few photos of what he found in the area, and I wanted to confirm his suspension. We had a really bad elk winter kill in a lot of drainages. With the 70+ inches of snow we got in February, any critter that didn't migrate bailed off the ridges and got stuck in the creeks. They sat there months till April. The elk were sitting ducks. I found 5 dead bulls in less then a mile. Some basins may have lost a majority of their bulls.

Foxbow · May 2, 2019

LAST EDITED ON May-02-19 AT 04:30PM (MST)[p]What a waste !!
Be plenty of fat wolves up there and
not much else left

hawkbill · May 4, 2019

I was going to post the six bulls I pulled out, but I have had enough of dead animals for one winter. With the bulls you pulled out and the guys I know out there looking the dead bull count is up to 26 now. The last time I saw Bulls take it this bad in winter I was in high school, I was going back and trying to figure out the year that it happened and I believe it was 43 years ago. We lost a lot of older age class Bulls this winter, with fawn loss near 100% it was the worst winter kill I have ever seen .

Foxbow · May 5, 2019

How high up the mountain were most of those carcasses ?
U think they are starving or wolf kills

hawkbill · May 5, 2019

They were starviving channeling through 6 or 7 ? feet of snow stuck in little pockets high in the mountains where they usually winter . With a heavy crust on top of the snow from a day of rain and then freezing temperatures, the wolves could run on top the whole month of March. The bulls had no chance.

Cooper · May 6, 2019

Foxbow · May 6, 2019

>They were starviving channeling through 6
>or 7 ? feet
>of snow stuck in little
>pockets high in the mountains
>where they usually winter .
>With a heavy crust on
>top of the snow from
>a day of rain and
>then freezing temperatures, the wolves
>could run on top the
>whole month of March. The
>bulls had no chance.

That's a really bad deal

Foxbow · May 7, 2019

Iam guessing deer really got hit hard again !

elkboy32 · May 7, 2019

The deer migrated a bit more then the elk that got trapped, so I haven't been in as much of their winter range. I know Billy saw a lot of dead fawns further south though. I would think we lost almost all our fawns. After the winter two years ago, I don't think there are many bucks over 2 years old.....