[Southpaw]

Any one heard or know if he is still with us .
He used to come out to Montana to help reduce the ground squirrels.
Lost his email and wondered if he is still with us.
Last winter was brutal on our gopher population . The long winter with out any major chinooks left a pile of snow to melt off. We managed to get out of here behind a snow plow in mid march .Spent 21 days in CA with daughter , got home 15th of April behind a Snow plow .
The gophers (Richardson's) were up when we left and when we returned. Great hunting on the snow.
After the spring melt down they just disappeared. I contacted Dr.Gail Michener the Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences @ University of Lethbridge .
She said they died off from the slow long spring melt down resulting in cold wet burrows. That in turn caused hypothermia and a starting high death loss.

The Bird season wasn't much better .

Any one interested in Gails over 35 years of research. It can be found at this site. https://Richardsonsgroundsquirrel.wordpress.com Wishing all a Happy new Year . Southpaw

 

[JRinKY]

I don't know old Bert, but i think a lot of Prairie Dogs suffered the same fate as the other ground squirrels. Place we shot in Montana had almost a 100% die off.

 

[Southpaw]

PD's will plague out , Gophers do not have that problem according to Gail .
Fleas are host specific on gophers and do not carry the plague. and will not stay on humans according to her research in Southern Alberta and Sask.
We live under 5 miles from border so I'm thinking her research is valid here also.