Ghosts of the Hil ls :

Mountain Goats

on Kodiak

McCrea Cobb Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge

Brown Bag Lunch Series

Oct. 20, 2011

Ghosts of the Hills

Presentation Outline

• Natural history and

ecology

• How goats ended up

on Kodiak

• Research and

monitoring work

– 2011 Field Season

• Future research and

monitoring goals

B. Dunker

Mountain Goats

• Member of Caprinae

– “Goat/antelopes”

• Serow spp.

• Goral spp.

• Chamois spp.

– Only living

species in it‟s genus

Natural History

• Distribution

• Western N.A.

• S. to Colorado

• N. to Alaska

• 80-120K goats

• ~58K in Canada

• ~12K in lower 48

• ~30K in Alaska

Alaska Distribution

ADF&G

Life History

• Diet and Habitat

– Graze grasses, sedges,

forbs, lichens, ferns,

and moss.

– May browse shrubs and

conifers during the

winter when other

forage is unavailable.

– Need escape terrain

• Especially important

during kidding season.

Life History • Home Ranges

– Generally small

• 300 ha females

• 1,200 ha males

• Movements

– Daily to acquire food, rest, find a mate, thermoregulate, and avoid predators.

– Seasonal for nutritional and reproductive needs.

• Altitudinal migrations

K. White ADF&G

K. White ADF&G

Annual Life Cycle

• Nannies give birth to 1

kid (usually) in late

May – early June

• Rut in late Oct.– early

Dec.

• Billies solo to

small groups.

• Nannies/kids

nursery groups

Nanny or Billy?

Quiz: Nanny or Billy?

N

B

K

Nanny or Billy?

B

N

Nanny or Billy?

B

B

N

N N

?

Introductions to Kodiak Species Release Date Release Site Current Status

Sitka deer 1924, 1934 Long & Kodiak Is. ~60-80,000 (?)

Roosevelt elk 1929 Afognak Is. ~610 (2010)

Moose 1966, 1967 Kodiak Is. XX

Reindeer 1924 Alitak Bay ~320

Dall sheep 1964, 1965 Kodiak Is. XX

Beaver 1929 Kodiak & Raspberry Is. 30-50,000 (?)

Muskrat 1925 Long Is. Chiniak area

Marten 1952 Afognak Is.

(Paramanof)

2-3,000 (?)

Mink 1952 Kodiak Is. (Karluk) XX

Snowshoe hare 1934 Kodiak & Afognak Is. 100,000 (??)

Red squirrel 1952 Afognak & Kodiak Is. 10-15,000 (?)

Raccoon pre-1936 & 1980 Long & Kodiak Is. XX

Spruce grouse 1957, 1959 Woody Is. XX

Vancouver Canada goose 1986 Shuyak & Kodiak Is. ~1,000 (?)

Goat

Introductions • “Easier rugs or roasts

should be available and in more places”

• 1924, 18 goats introduced to Baranof Is.

• Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration funding

• Experimented with numerous methods to capture • Dogs

• “feed pail” traps

• Collapsible box trap

• Self-injecting syringe on an arrow

• Drop net from a helicopter

Goats to

Kodiak

• Initial attempts

were unsuccessful.

• Private trappers

– $350-400/goat

– Dangerous work

• 18 goats captured

in 1952 and 1953.

1952-1953

1975-1984

1984-1995

1985-1994

2004-2010

Population Growth

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

# G

oats

Cou

nte

d

*Currently ~2,400 – 2,600 goats island-wide

Population Growth

Management Concerns • Mountain goats are

an economically important game species on Kodiak.

– Maintaining high harvests in important

• Rapid population growth is a concern.

– Classic ungulate irruptive growth pattern

– Potential for long-lasting changes to the landscape

Management Goal:

• Maintain a sustainable mountain goat population

that:

1) Meets agency harvest objectives.

2) Does not detrimentally impact native flora and fauna.

Management Questions

1. An estimate of the number of goats, with confidence intervals.

2. An understanding of the effects of hunting and other limiting factors on changes in population size.

3. An understanding of how big the population can get without causing damage to the landscape.

Information Needs

1. An estimate of the number of goats, with confidence intervals.

2. An understanding of the effects of hunting and other limiting factors on changes in population size.

3. An understanding of how big the population can get without causing damage to the landscape.

1. How many goats are not being counted during surveys.

2. Rates and sources of mortality and reproductive rates.

3. Resource selection patterns

1. Diet

2. Feeding Site Selection

3. Habitat Selection

Summer 2011 Pilot Field Study

• Goals:

1. Quantify

mountain

goat diets.

2. Determine

feeding

site

selection.

Where? • 3 study sites

– Hidden Basin/

Terror Lake

– Uyak region

– Hepburn Pen.

• Selected based on

duration of goat

occupancy.

• Visited each study

site twice between

May and Aug.

What did we do?

• Diet

– Collected fresh

pellets

– Sent to WSU

– Results by Feb „12

What did we do?

• Feeding Site Selection

– Transects at feeding

sites and random

locations

– 17 plots along transects

– Surveyed plant species

diversity and

composition

• Will compare data

from feeding sites to

random locations

Preliminary Results

• Surveyed 298 plots

• 5,066 plots!

• 161 unique plant

species / habitats

– Most common plants:

• Long-awned sedge,

patridgefoot, arctic

daisy, black

crowberry

• Distance to rock

outcropping

important, slope less.

Future Research Goals

• Cost-effective estimate of population size that includes confidence interval

– VHF radio collars

• Resource Selection

– GPS collars

• Survival & Reproduction

– Monitor collared goats

The Goat Crew