A raccoon of higher learning

When I first saw the police officer outside Manitou schools' SILC (Shared Integrated Learning Center) building, I thought perhaps it had been hit by vandals again.

Apparently the draw was nothing more than a curious raccoon that had wandered up the steps and along a ledge to camp out in the sunshine. You wouldn't think concrete would be too comfortable, but you can't beat the view.

By the time a few hundred kids and teachers had tromped up and down the stairs underneath its sleeping perch, the raccoon was ticked.

MSHS freshman Chris Hollingsworth described the critter as "really cranky."

Animal control was hanging out, waiting and watching.

That's a lotta elk

Where have all these elk been hiding?

From the AP:
State wildlife officers say the Bears Ears herd of elk is 2-3 times as large as they thought. They say the herd has 23,000 to 45,000 elk.

The new count is based on a spring survey of elk herd ranges using three helicopters and one airplane.

Some northwest Colorado landowners had complained for years that the DOW elk estimates were faulty.

“There’s way too many elk in some places,” rancher John Smith said. “They move into these meadows too early and rub out the growth. They kill the edible brush.”

At a meeting last week, rancher T. Wright Dickinson told wildlife officers they have an obligation to make sure elk range is protected, just as ranchers are expected to make sure cattle range isn’t overused.

“You need to survey for the health of the range. It can’t handle the numbers (of elk) it has now,” he said.

Where the deer and the antelope play...

(National Park Service photo)

Remember that great story Dave did about the cat and deer friendship? If not, check it out.

Anyway, apparently there's a similar kind of friendship in Greeley: a young antelope (I guess, a pronghorn) that is pals with a dog.

The AP reports a "friendly young antelope" has been seen "cavorting with a dog" along a walking path.

The 3-month-old, 15-pound buck was spotted Wednesday, running and playing with a neighborhood dog named Skeeter along the Poudre River trail, a path that runs through Greeley and the nearby town of Windsor.

“It’s just the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ronda Underwood. “We were just riding along the trail and saw this antelope playing with a dog.”

She said the antelope came up to her, nuzzled its head and neck along her leg and seemed almost to beg to be petted. Larry Rogstad, a district officer for the state Division of Wildlife, was summoned for fear that the antelope would be attacked by the numerous coyotes in the area. The animal, dubbed “Poudre” by passers-by, was taken to a wildlife refuge where handlers will try to get it ready to return to its natural habitat.

Leave the babies alone

A note from the DOW - Colorado's Division of Wildlife - reminds to leave young animals alone when you see them along the trail, in your yard, wherever.

A Greater Sandhill Crane that has been raised on a ranch near Nucla will be held by the DOW and, likely, shipped to a zoo.

The crane was a chick when found on a ranch 3 years ago. Thinking it had been abandoned, a rancher took it home, fed it cat food and treated it like a pet. Later, the rancher became ill and friends took the bird to an area where sandhill cranes gather during their migration north for summer. The bird wanted no part of its free-roaming cousins. Trainers at the Schneegas Wildlife Foundation saw quickly that the bird couldn't be retrained.

There's little that can be done with the crane, which is why DOW asks people not to mess with wildlife.

"Adult animals often leave their young ones to go off to feed or to distract predators," said DOW's Tony Gurzick. "Young animals are well camouflaged and learn their own survival skills when left on their own. We know people are well-intentioned, but the animal's best chance of surviving is if it's left alone."

In the wild sandhill cranes can live for 20 years. That's a long time for a crane to live in a zoo, too.