Caribou rescued

What started out as an unusual hunt for a dead caribou that wandered south of Eureka from Canada turned out to be an animal  rescue mission Thursday for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists.

British Columbia wildlife officials notified the biologists Thursday morning that a recently transplanted cow caribou had wandered into the Pinkham Creek drainage, and its satellite collar was broadcasting a mortality signal that is triggered when the collar doesn’t move for six hours.

Jim Williams, the regional wildlife manager, teamed up with biologists Tim Thier and Tim Manley to retrieve the animal using snowmobiles.

They were prepared to conduct a necropsy and gather tissue samples for their Canadian counterparts. The cow was among a group of 19 caribou captured from a northern British Columbia herd to augment the Purcell Mountain herd that roams about 30 miles south of Cranbrook, B.C.

Approaching the coordinates for the collar’s location, the Montana biologists spotted wolf tracks.

“We saw wolf tracks on the way in and we assumed a wolf had taken her down,” Williams said.

After a short search, “I got to a rise and all the sudden a head pops up and I thought, ‘Oh, she’s alive,’” Williams said.

But the cow could not move her legs for some reason. At first, the biologists suspected starvation, but the animal didn’t appear thin.

The biologists loaded her on a sled and pulled her back to a truck. Williams and Manley drove her to Eureka and contacted a local veterinarian willing to take a look at the caribou.

Manley had noticed that the caribou had lots of bloated ticks behind her ears, and being a former llama owner, he was aware of a condition called tick paralysis.

The veterinarian agreed with his assessment, administered a drug to counter the effects of tick paralysis and gave the cow intravenous fluids to combat dehydration.

“The caribou started responding immediately,” Williams said.

Manley and Williams located a trailer from a local outfitter to get the caribou out of the rain for a return trip to Canada. They eventually met Canadian wildlife officials about 30 miles north of the border.

Williams was informed Friday morning that the caribou was walking in the trailer, and after she fully recovers she will rejoin the Purcell herd from which she wandered away.

Caribou haven’t had an established presence in Montana for decades, but “every other year we get a wandering bull” from Canada, Williams said.

Williams noted that an old-timer houndsman from Eureka, Arlie Burke, reported seeing four or five caribou in the Ten Lakes area east of Eureka about 50 years ago. Coincidentally, Burke showed up at the veterinarian’s office with a puppy while the caribou was there.

Another coincidence: Manley and Thier were tracking a black bear for research purposes in the Yaak 25 years ago when they encountered a caribou and managed to photograph it.

“That’s interesting the two biologists are still working with each other,” Williams said. “Yesterday was a special day for Tim and Tim.”

Caribou are considered a game species in Montana but they are protected by a constant “closed season” regulation.

Williams said he and his co-workers are in “watch and learn mode” with the Canadian efforts to rebuild the Purcell caribou population, because if it gets big enough, caribou could disperse to suitable habitat in the northern Whitefish Range or in the Northwest Peaks area north of the Yaak.

“If their project is successful, we could see natural recolonization” in Montana, Williams said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.