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Pinedale Online > News > April 2006 > Antelope crossing at Trappers Point Bottleneck

Antelope at Trappers Point. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
Antelope at Trappers Point
How will they cross? This view is looking from north to south, with Highway 191 and the cattle-wildlife underpass in the foreground. Trappers Point Historical Site is just out of sight on top of the hill to the right.
Antelope crossing at Trappers Point Bottleneck
by Pinedale Online!
April 17, 2006

As the winter snow melts, and tender shoots of green grass begin to appear, antelope and deer begin to move up the Green River Valley with the spring green-up.

We observed a group of about 75 pronghorn antelope just south of Trappers Point and Highway 191 on Saturday as they worked their way north into the "Trappers Point Bottleneck", a constriction point for wildlife attempting to cross to the northern regions of the Upper Green River Valley. We wanted to find out how these antelope dealt with the Highway 191 obstacle at the bottleneck to get across to the north side of the highway.

There is a highway underpass at this location, designed to allow cattle and wildlife to get from one side of the highway to another without crossing the road and encountering traffic. Did these antelope use it? Follow the sequence of photos to see what this group of antelope chose to do.

These photos were taken with a telephoto zoom, allowing long-range observation to remain unnoticed. Total time for the animals to find their way safely through the Bottleneck from the south to the north side of the highway was approximately half an hour.

Story by Dawn Ballou, photos by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online!



Related Links
  • Trappers Point Wildlife Corridor Sensors - (Pinedale Online, 6/10/05)
  • View of route taken by antelope - View looking north at the Trappers Point bottleneck, the route the anteope took in this story.
  • Cora Y Subdivision - View looking from north to south at Trappers Point Bottleneck
  • Trappers Point Underpass - View the antelope had of the highway underpass from on top of the hill. Fences funnel cattle and wildlife into the underpass opening and keep them off the highway.
  • WYDOT Cora Y Hwy 191 webcam - This webcam has a view of the highway right at the Trappers Point bottleneck on Hwy 191.

  • Pronghorn group. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Pronghorn group
    A group of about 75 pronghorn work their way north along the sagebrush hills on the east side of the Green River, just south of Trappers Point.

    On the move. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    On the move
    The group stays close together and move as one in whatever direction the leader picks for them to go.

    Going behind the deer. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Going behind the deer
    Moving quickly, the herd runs around a group of mule deer grazing in the sage brush just south of Trappers Point. The antelope move with purpose headed north.

    Start off to the left. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Start off to the left
    Topping the hill, the leaders start to take the group to the left, then stop and completely change directions. The movements are like a school of fish in which way the group goes.

    To the west. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    To the west
    Changing their minds, the herd switches directions and heads right, to the west towards Trappers Point monument.

    Top of the hill. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Top of the hill
    The herd reaches the hilltop break and the leaders pause for a moment to look around.

    Over the top. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Over the top
    The herd runs over the crest of the hill and down the north side, appearing to head straight towards the highway underpass.

    Veer off to the left. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Veer off to the left
    The leaders won't go further down the hill to the highway underpass. They veer off to the left and go back to the top of the hill. The animals behind them try to follow the circular path, but the group appears bewindered on the way to go.

    Bewildered. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Bewildered
    The leaders have come full circle and are back on top of the hill looking around for where to go. The animals mid-hill stop and wait for the leaders to come back down from the top and show them where to go next.

    Underpass a No-Go. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Underpass a No-Go
    Despite the funneling fence lines, and the underpass to let the animals safely cross under the highway, this group does not want to go further down the hill to take the route to cross under the highway. The leaders shift the group to the right on the sidehill and spot an opening in the fence line.

    Spot the way out. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Spot the way out
    The leaders see the fence opening and quickly run over to get out of the funnel fencelines.

    A brief pause. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    A brief pause
    The leaders take the group through the opening in the cross fence, and pause briefly to see where they can go next. The right-of-way fence prevents them from going down to the highway, so they begin to run to the top of the hill as they work their way west.

    Through the fence gap. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Through the fence gap
    The herd moves through the fence opening and keep moving west.

    Running to the hilltop. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Running to the hilltop
    Once through the gap in the fence, the herd takes off running to the top of the hill. Unsuspecting traffic speeds by on Highway 191 below them. Wildlife warning lights still have not been triggered by this group.

    Following the fence line. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Following the fence line
    The group follows the fence line over the hill and drop into the Green River Valley side of Trappers Point.

    Following the rightofway fence. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Following the rightofway fence
    The herd follows the right-of-way fence off the top of the hill, then crawl under the fence to get to the edge of the highway. Antelope rarely jump fences, prefering to crawl under the bottom wire.

    A brief pause. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    A brief pause
    The lead pronghorn pauses only briefly on the edge of the highway before darting across to the other side. The rest follow close behind. Fortunately, no cars were coming at the moment the herd darted across.

    Main group crosses. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Main group crosses
    The lead antelope crosses first and the rest quickly follow staying close together in their group.

    Main group cross. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Main group cross
    The main pronghorn group cross the highway very quickly. There were no cars coming in either direction at the time these animals crossed the highway

    Stragglers cross. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    Stragglers cross
    The last of the stragglers get through the right-of-way fence and cross the highway to catch up with the rest of the group. The herd crossed in a gap in the traffic.

    All finally across. Photo by Clint Gilchrist, Pinedale Online.
    All finally across
    All the animals crossed safely to the north side of Highway 191.

    Travel Path. Photo by .
    Travel Path
    Satellite image showing the approximate path this group of pronghorn took to get across Hwy 191 at Trappers Point, just west of the intersection of US Hwy 191 and Cora Hwy 352. Direction of travel is from the bottom right, north to the top left. Land west of Hwy 352 is public BLM. A private land housing subdivision lies on the east side of Hwy 352 (right). Total time for this group to travel the distance in this photo was approximately 30 minutes on Saturday, April 15. (2002 satellite photo enhanced by Pinedale Online)
      
    Pinedale Online > News > April 2006 > Antelope crossing at Trappers Point Bottleneck

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