Caribou taken back to Canada herd
<p>British Columbia wildlife biologist Larry Ingham handles a female caribou at a release site in the Purcell Mountains on Saturday. The caribou appeared to be in good health after its bout with tick paralysis and its move from Northwest Montana.</p>
A caribou that was captured in Montana last week is back with her herd in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains.
The cow caribou wandered south into Montana just a few weeks after being transplanted along with 18 other caribou from a northern British Columbia herd to the Purcell herd.
Her legs became paralyzed because of ticks that had infested her ears, so she was unable to move, causing her satellite collar to emit a mortality signal.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists were able to go to the collar’s coordinates in the Pinkham Creek drainage south Eureka, where they were expecting to find a dead caribou.
Instead, they ended up taking her to a veterinarian who administered a drug to counter the tick paralysis.
After the caribou recovered enough to literally get back on her feet, she was transported back to British Columbia and given to wildlife officials there.
A helicopter carried the caribou to a ridgeline in the Purcell Mountains just outside Cranbrook. She was released near a group of 10 other caribou over the weekend.
An established caribou population hasn’t been seen in Northwest Montana for decades, but every couple of years an individual caribou will wander south of the border.