The picture has been different with the moun- 

 tain sheep. They were at one time abundant over 

 a large per cent of the mountainous portion of the 

 state and also out along the breaks of the Mis- 

 souri and its tributaries. Due to excessive hunting, 

 the bands were greatly depleted in the early 

 1900's. The majority of the remainder have dwind- 

 led during the intervening years until now they are 

 represented by only a scattering of small isolated 

 bands. 



The transplanting of mountain sheep into 

 ranges where they were once abundant is a logi- 

 cal step toward the ultimate reestablishment of 

 this species. This program also calls for the inter- 

 change of several rams. It is hoped in this way to 

 introduce new blood among these small isolated 

 bands and thus to determine whether inbreeding 

 may be a factor in holding down the mountain 

 sheep population. 



Procedure: 



In trapping both mountain goats and moun- 

 tain sheep, a woven wire pen was used. This 

 was forty-five feet long, twenty-five feet wide, 

 and eleven feet high. The pen was baited with 

 common stock salt. A gate was used which could 

 be tripped 300 yards away from the trap. 



The capturing pen for mountain goats was 

 located in the main Rocky Mountain range west 

 of Choteau. The first attempt to trap and trans- 

 plant was made in April, 1940. The Fish and 

 Game Department was reimbursed for half the 

 expense of this project by the Big Timber Rod 

 and Gun Club. Ten goats were captured and 

 transplanted to the Sweetgrass Canyon of the 

 Crazy Mountains in Sweetgrass county. There 



is no record of goats having previously inhab- 

 ited this rather isolated range; the topography 

 and vegetative composition, however, appear 

 ideal for this species. Two additional yearling 

 billies were moved to the small herd in the 

 Eenchmark area. 



During the spring of 1942 twelve mountain 

 goats were captured in the same pen. They were 

 transported to the Beartooth Mountains and re- 

 leased near the mouth of the Lake Fork of Rock 

 Creek just west of the Red Lodge-Cook City high- 

 way. Topography is similar to the ranges along 

 ihe Continental Divide where goats are now found. 

 Elevations run from 4,500 feet in the foothills up 

 to 12,850 feet on Granite Peak, the highest moun- 

 tain in the state. It is thought that the long dis- 

 tances separating the Beartooth Range from the 

 areas in which mountain goats are found have 

 prevented a natural drift. 



The following tabulation lists the information 

 concerning the Beartooth plant: 



in goat capturing pen located on a high bench within 

 the Deep Creek drainage west of Choteau. 



The first catili. 



billy, tv 

 old kid. 



