Observation: A Dall Sheep came through the Village and Community of Chistochina on wed June 29th, but I was away in the mountains so I only got second hand references. Dall Sheep have migrated northward to the Alaska Range from the Mentasta Range and the Wrangell's for quite some time. Initially from intense hunting pressure from airplane guides, then ATV presence beginning in the 80s. Then in 2013 I noticed that Dall sheep above out cabin at Twin Lakes were all itchy footed. None of them would sit still for an hour. Deeply contrasted with the old days when sheep may lay in the same bed nearly the whole summer except for feeding down into the basins and back up, twice a day and back to the same bed-place with rarely a change of scenery unless a predator comes calling.
There maybe a reasons beyond our kin as to the sheep in Chistochina, summer of 2016. But it does not bode well for the thought that something very serious is changing the habits and habitat of the Dall Sheep.
LEO says: It is interesting the change in range and behavior. Sounds like on both, people may be in some way a factor. It makes me think of the accounts I have heard of deer further north, coming in from Canada. And a few accounts of mountain lions, perhaps related. M. Brubaker
Observer Comment: Mountain lions have slipped into our region off an on since I was a teenager, without staying or perhaps not living into winters. We may be an ancient elephant burial ground for mountain lions without ever knowing it. Thanks for the photo of the Mountain Lion in Tazlina. The confirmation is nice to have. I don't think the Lion presence is the reason for the sheep being so restless. I think myself that its a crossover from domestic sheep, or perhaps another contact with farm animals. I do know that that the cross breeding between Dall and Stone produced a prized sheep in the Nabesna/Wrangells, producing a larger, more sedate and very sedentary beast in the mountains. At any rate what I'm seeing in sheep is a restlessness that you could not make me think could be a sheep characteristic in the 1960s and 1970s." W. Justin
Resource:
Alaska Department of Fish & Game Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series "is an encyclopedia of Alaska’s wildlife, ranging from little brown bats to blue whales. It is available online and in print form, as a perfect-bound, 300-page black and white book." Category, BIG GAME; Dall Sheep.
Denali Education Center Alaska, Connecting people to Denali through fun, informative and inspiring programs. "The Dall Sheep (Ovis dalli) are completely at home in their winter surroundings of the far northern mountains. These white sheep are found only in central and Northern Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and northern British Columbia where mountain ranges provide favorable habitat because the snowfall is relatively light and strong winds keep the exposed ridges free of snow." Source: National Park Service
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge | Alaska — Wildlife & Habitat: Dall Sheep Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
