Colville Tribes reintroduce 52 pronghorn antelope to reservation

Tuesday, February 16, 2016  

The Colville Tribes of Washington reintroduced 52 pronghorn antelope to the reservation late last month.

The antelope were once prominent in the region until hunting and a loss of habitat led to their demise. But relocation is often a difficult process -- 11 of the animals have already died, The Seattle Times reported.

“We are doing our due diligence to understand exactly what some of the causes were," Eric Krausz, a wildlife biologist on the reservation, told the paper of the animals that were brought from Nevada. "Hopefully it will teach us and other wildlife managers how to handle pronghorn during capture.”

The Yakama Nation successfully brought back the antelope to its reservation in 2011 and counted 132 animals during a February 2015 survey, according to a joint report from Yakama Nation Wildlife and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Get the Story:
Colville tribes’ risky bid: bring back pronghorn antelope (The Seattle Times 2/15)
Heritage Restored: Pronghorns Return to Colville Reservation a Century After Extirpation (Indian Country Today 2/9)
Pronghorn Antelope Reintroduced In North Central Washington (The Seattle Times 2/5)
Tribal wildlife department brings back antelope (The Grand Coulee Star 2/3)
Colville Tribe releases 52 Nevada pronghorns on reservation (The Spokesman Review 2/1)
CTFW to reintroduce pronghorn, ‘a native species to the homelands of our people,’ says release (The Tribal Tribune 12/14)

An Opinion:
Council Corner: Nicholson congratulates CTFW on pronghorn returning to reservation (The Tribal Tribune 2/4)