The Centennial Valley is teeming with pronghorns. And with ranches that are fenced off with barbed wire. That combination is a recipe for disaster, in part because, unlike deer and elk, pronghorn rarely jump fences. Instead, they try to go under them or through them, so it isn’t unusual for pronghorn to get snagged by the barbs. The result can be serious injury or even death.
Some years ago I had to free this pronghorn fawn in the Centennial Valley from barbed wire that had been snagged by a single barb that hooked the inside of its left front leg. It had tried to follow its mother through the wire and didn’t make it. Thankfully, this time I didn’t have to cut the wire.
The ungrateful little rascal kicked me as it ran off.
So on my recent camping trip to the Centennial Valley I was fearful for this doe pronghorn as she approached this barbed wire fence with the obvious intention of going through or under it. She was caught between fences on both sides of the road I was on and she panicked as I approached. Here she looks like she was approaching the fence slowly and carefully but in reality she was going at quite a clip.
But what I didn’t notice at the time is that this fence is special.
Some ranchers in the valley have installed pronghorn-friendly barbed wire fences that have no barbs on the bottom wire. This fence is one of them.
She went under that fence as slick as a whistle, with no fur or hide patches left on the wire.
I see more fences like this one each time I visit the valley. Fencing is expensive but with the encouragement of various environmental organizations, ranchers are increasingly doing what they can to protect pronghorn and other wildlife in the valley.
And pronghorn-friendly fences aren’t the only example of ranchers trying to protect wildlife in the valley. Much of the huge valley is Sage Grouse country. When in flight, grouse have a hard time seeing barbed wire, so they often crash into it. When a 6+ lb. Sage Grouse crashes into barbed wire at speed, the results are predictably disastrous.
So some ranchers have allowed organizations like the Nature Conservancy to install bright white fence flags on their barbed wire fences. The flags are easy to see and research has shown that they significantly reduce grouse/fence mayhem. I took this photo on June 19th in one of the more remote areas of the valley.
Perhaps half an hour after this photo was taken I talked to a local rancher (Justin) about the fence flags. Here’s what he said (paraphrased) – “As long they (the Nature Conservancy and organizations like them) are willing to pay for them, and install them, I’m certainly willing to allow them to do so.”
Barbless wire and fence flags – steps in the right direction.
Ron
Note: Over the years I’ve literally seen hundreds of pronghorns going under or through barbed wire fences. I’ve only seen pronghorn jump a fence three times. They’re capable of doing it, they just don’t. Usually.
That is awesome, what a great, easy solution!
Restrooms with vent pipes need the top of the pipe covered with wire mesh to prevent critters from falling into the vaults. Hawks Aloft had to rescue a Barn Owl last year from a vault and rehab her. She was released successfully after several weeks of care. Fish and Wildlife and BLM in NM covered their facilities after they were notified of this incident.
Susan, covering those pipes has been an ongoing process around here for years.
I LIKE it! Some of the deer are also “fence crawlers” here tho some fawns get caught trying to jump before they’re ready. Glad they’re coming up with some workable solutions that don’t bankrupt the ranchers in the process.
Both of these are solutions that seem obvious after the fact. Then, we wonder why no one thought of them earlier. No matter. Both are terrific, and as the old saying has it, better late than never.
Shoreacres, some folks have been talking about and promoting solutions like these for years. But change is hard, and sometimes expensive.
Very good news, Ron! My sister sent me an Instagram thing the other day – two young women disentangling a barn owl caught in barbed wire and getting it to the wildlife rehab center – Galileo’s story exactly. Galileo and your ungrateful pronghorn fawn – it’s too sad to think of their fates if you hadn’t happened upon them when you did. And now knowing that horses and cows also get caught – oh my!
Our little county historical museum has a display of the different types of barbed wire – I cringe every time I see it.
Carolyn, quite a few folks collect and display different types of barbed wire – especially the historic stuff. There are actually organizations devoted to it. To each his own I guess.
Most definitely good news, and glad that baby pronghorn made it through unscathed thanks to the barbless wire! I appreciate the ranchers that “let” TNC pay for and install this fencing and the flags — and perhaps one day some will even do it on their own because it’s the right thing to do. 🙂
Chris, perhaps some of the ranchers are already doing it “on their own”. I think Justin was just speaking for himself.
Thanks for sharing. Good news.
It sure is.
Great idea to attach the white flags to the fences. Can’t see any reason for a rancher to object to that. I remember that time you cut the fence. Seeing an animal caught in the barbed wire would be
really hard to handle. And of course an animal that gets caught is going to trash around trying to escape and probably make it worse.
Everett, it’s my understanding that cows caught in barbed wire pretty much give up and accept their fate but horses fight it, with predictable results.
I had to help load a barb-wired horse into a trailer to take her to the vet when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I will never forget her pain and fear. I was the lucky person to got to hold the twitch as the rest of the owners prepared the trailer and ramp. I hope I never have to do that ever again.
Great news. Thanks for the up-date. It is only humane to save God’s creatures. I once saw a cow in such a situation as we were driving to AZ. It looked like he/she was dead – or had given up trying to get on the other side – where the grazing opportunity looked much better.
Judy, I once saw a horse caught in barbed wire. To call it horrific is an understatement.
Thank you for some good news today, Ron! So nice that farmers and ranchers are starting to think of animals other than their own herds. Looks like I’ll be sending a check to the Nature Conservancy for more fence flags.
” Looks like I’ll be sending a check to the Nature Conservancy for more fence flags..”
Good for you, Marty. Money well spent.
I’m so glad of this news and that you posted it this morning. The Cedar City airport is serving as the center for air support for the
4 major wildfires currently ravaging southern Utah and northern Arizona. As I live under the flight line, all day the departures and returns are a constant reminder of the plight not only of the burning
forests, but of the terror and suffocation of the creatures trying to escape them……any GOOD news is very welcome.
Thanks, Kris. Those fires down there are awful. I don’t envy you, living under that flight line. I imagine it’s depressing.
Good news indeed. Thanks for sharing.
Seems like there is a real dearth in the good news department these days. Really needed that.
MIchael, originally I had other plans for today’s post but I needed some good news too. Thus, the change in plans.