Cherry Creek Ranch roundup

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Cherry Creek Ranch roundup"

Dorthy Lang
5 years ago
Views:

Take my best shot Cherry Creek a W i l d F o c u s P u b l i c a t i o n August 2011 Voluime 2, Issue No 1

net Cherry Creek Ranch roundup Blackbuck Antelope Mouflon sheep (crossbred) And so our journey begins.

u g h t o n m y Cuddeback and Moultrie cameras.

1 Take my best shot Cherry Creek a W i l d F o c u s P u b l i c a t i o n August 2011 Voluime 2, Issue No 1 wildfocus.net Cherry Creek Ranch roundup Blackbuck Antelope Mouflon sheep (crossbred) And so our journey begins. Today I will report on the many exotics seen during my rounds; some as I travel the ranch, o t h e r s c a u g h t o n m y Cuddeback and Moultrie cameras. Last season, we harvested a record number of exotics, at least as best that I can remember and my memory goes back some 39 years of hunting and photographing in these hills and canyons. In the early 1970ʼs, there was a l a r g e h e r d o f B l a c k b u c k

This section of the Hill Country is very rugged, consisting of layers of limestone covered with cedar. It is, however, a mecca for hunting whitetail deer, turkeys and exotics.

2 CHERRY CREEK! PAGE 2 Antelope, Mouflon and Barbardos Sheep freely roaming the low fenced ranch. A herd of Axis Deer, closely guarded in a large enclosure were raised by Udo Letz for supplemental income to sustain his ranch operations, as few ranchers were able to carry the load on cattle alone. This section of the Hill Country is very rugged, consisting of layers of limestone covered with cedar. It is, however, a mecca for hunting whitetail deer, turkeys and exotics. Type to enter text When Freddie Russ married Paula Letz, he worked the ranch with Udo and listened and learned. As Udo had done when he first acquired the ranch, much of his income came from Angora Goats which were popular income animals for their fleece. Freddie tried this with what I believe were either Polypay or British Milk Sheep, an adventure soon abandoned. I can recall a herd of Blackbelly Barbados sheep roaming Saddle Creek. I counted more than 80 in one herd and joining them was a near white DeBouillet. A strange but exciting sight. In numbers there is safety. The sheep are long gone, the last three I recall (Mouflon) being taken by Sal Saia and myself in 1990 beyond the Hot Spot. I might add, this was a well executed stalk on foot paying close attention to the wind and the terrain. Feral Hogs There were few feral hogs on the ranch until the mid eighties. In the beginning Well, we all know how that has changed. Last season ( ) more than 100 were taken by 16 leaseholders and guests. And most were weekend hunters staying for two or three days at the most. Imagine what the tally would be if more hunter hours would have been spent in the field. This harvest does not include more than 40 taken by ranch hands and trappers.

CHERRY CREEK! PAGE 3 Todays Exotics As ranches evolve, we see more high fenced properties these days.

Regardless, neither work perfectly as animals will find their way in or out, given the pressure from hunting, lack of food or

Aoudads, Sika (two species) and Fallow Deer are the predominant exotic inhabitants now, although Axis, Blackbuck and, more

3 CHERRY CREEK! PAGE 3 Todays Exotics As ranches evolve, we see more high fenced properties these days. These fences are built for one of two reasons; to keep the deer and exotics out, or to keep the deer and exotics in. Regardless, neither work perfectly as animals will find their way in or out, given the pressure from hunting, lack of food or water, or human developement. Aoudads, Sika (two species) and Fallow Deer are the predominant exotic inhabitants now, although Axis, Blackbuck and, more rarely, Red Deer are seen. It is my firm belief that many of the exotics seen near Cherry Creek Ranch (especially Axis, Blackbuck and some species of sheep) are descendents of the ranch which, until neighboring developers changed the perimeters, was strictly low fence.

4 CHERRY CREEK! PAGE 4 PHOTO GALLERY

5 CHERRY CREEK! PAGE 5! Some that we left for seed Take my best shot!

6 Triplets! A very rare sight, especially during a long drought UNTIL NEXT ROUNDUP from: THE COLLECTOR 1234 Main Street Anytown, State ZIP August 2011 Issue No. 2 MAIL TO: My Hunting and Sporting Friends

Cherry Creek Ranch roundup

Take my best shot Cherry Creek a W i l d F o c u s P u b l i c a t i o n August-September 2012, PESTAFFORD @ WILDFOCUS.NET Cherry Creek Ranch roundup New breeder pen It s time to get back to work! There