Volunteers replace the bottom wire of fences across southern Alberta as part of the Pronghorn Corridor Enhancement Project to help antelope navigate the landscape by going underneath fences.--PHOTO COURTESY TJ SCHWANKY
amccuaig@medicinehatnews.com
Pronghorn might be one of the fastest animals in the world but they rarely jump over the thousands of kilometres of barbed-wire fences in southern Alberta.
They do however, crawl under them, which can cause serious injuries to the regional Alberta icon of communities and organizations.
“It is surprising,” said T.J. Schwanky, wildlife projects facilitator for Alberta Fish and Game Association. “They just never learned that skill.”
The fix is as simple as it is painstakingly long to complete – replace the bottom fence barbed-wire with a smooth one and adjust the height of that line.
It’s a concern which AFGA along with Alberta Conservation Association has undertaken to deal with in the last decade with the Pronghorn Corridor Enhancement Project.
It’s a project that spun off the successful 2009 pilot at CFB Suffield, which saw the base’s entire fence line replaced with the pronghorn-friendly bottom wire.
“We decided to expand the project,” said Schwanky of the volunteer-led initiative.
He said injuries from barbed wire to pronghorn range from tearing off hair, which can cause issues during colder weather, to severe lacerations, which can become infected.
It can also see predators take advantage of the situation by creating traps for pronghorn.
“Part of the idea of the project is to make migration easier,” said Schwanky, adding data from ACA radio-collared pronghorn “showed some real voids in where they migrate.”
The 150 kilometres of wire replaced has resulted in more migration paths to be opened up for the prairie speedster.
The Pronghorn Corridor Enhancement Project will be focusing on three areas this summer; Orion in July, Milk River in August and Acadia Valley in September.
Those wishing to volunteer can contact Schwanky via email at tj-afga@shaw.ca.
