Effects of selective hunting on group composition and behavior patterns of Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, males in Montana

Abstract

Although regulated hunting may not adversely affect wildlife populations, effects of some harvest regimes are inadequately known. We tested the assumption that a trophy Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) hunt, held during the breeding season, would not alter behavior patterns or group composition of a population located at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana. We compared behavior and group composition between males from this population and a population near Billings, Montana, that was not hunted with firearms during the breeding season. Males from the two populations did not differ in time budgets or interaction rates. However, groups at Fort Belknap, where population density was higher (3.5/km2 vs. 1.5/km2) contained significantly more females and fawns. Overall, a selective hunt for Pronghorn males does not appear to impact negatively the behavior patterns of these animals, probably because hunter density was low, 0.04 hunters/km2.