DWR: Record Number Of Big Game Animals Assessed During Winter Captures

Each year, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources captures big game animals to perform important health assessments and to place GPS collars on the animals and this year a record number of assessments were performed. According to the DWR press release, this winter there was a record 1,901 big game animals captured, providing important data about big game herds across the state. “When we do capture work, we make a concerted effort to minimize chase times and to keep all capture-related stress to a minimum,” shares DWR Big Game Projects Coordinator Kent Hersey. “It’s a short one-time event for those animaIs and doesn’t have the same impacts as repeated disturbances that cause them to use up important fat reserves. The information our biologists get from capturing a relatively small sample of deer provides very valuable data that is used to manage the entire deer population.” During the 2024-25 winter, the following animals were captured, assessed and released: 107 Bighorn sheep, 1,130 Deer, 195 Elk, 52 Moose, 54 Mountain goats, and 363 Pronghorn. Learn more at wildlife.utah.gov.