Hunting season is over at the end of November, but a group of researchers in Kananaskis say, as far as they're concerned, the end isn't coming soon enough. They're monitoring the Big Horn Sheep in Sheep River Provincial Park where hunting isn't allowed, but on two separate occasions over the last couple of weeks, wildlife biologist, Melanie Pachkowski, says they've seen hunters take shots at sheep in the protected area.
"They definitely saw us. They were looking at us through their scope, we were looking at them, we saw them looking at the sheep, we were watching the sheep, it was at that point that we saw them move a little, and they shot, and it was clearly intentionally directed at the sheep as they were observing them beforehand."
Pachkowski says those hunters missed, but lead researcher, Kathreen Ruckstuhl, saw a ram that took a bullet to its hind leg.
"It's just basically dangling by some skin, so there was a lot of blood, and it was broken off, so we were searching for it to put it down if necessary. It won't stand a big chance of surviving, so we might as well look for him and help him die."
Over the past 14 years, researchers say they've seen the number of Big Horn Sheep drop from 160 animals, to just 35. Some of the animals are being killed by disease and cougars, but researchers say an increasing number are being shot by poachers.
Ruckstuhl says this season, 23 of the sheep in the herd will be collared and tracked. Researchers will collect data on the ram's movements outside the boundary of Sheep River Provincial Park for a year. They're studying animals that leave the protected area to breed.
"Because it's so low, the population, we just can't afford to lose any other animals, and poaching is one of the things we witnessed in the past two weeks."
Conservation officer, Murray Ingstrup, says he, and the four other officers who patrol the park, are investigating the poaching incidents.
"We do daily checks and morning patrols for all these sorts of things in this area and others where we're checking hunters every morning and evening, and throughout the day, and compliance is generally good."
Researchers know that animals within Sheep River Provincial Park are typically bigger then ones in other areas of Kananaskis Country, and are hard for hunters to pass up. Conservation officers say in many poaching cases, they rely on information from other hunters and witnesses to prosecute those who shoot animals out of bounds.
Conservation officers say the general fine for illegally shooting an animal in the provincial park is $50-thousand, a year in jail, or both the fine and jail time.
The fines increase to $100-thousand, jail time, or both the fine and jail time, if an animal is shot in an ecological reserve.
If you have any information about a poaching incident, you can call the Report a Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.
