In the early 1970s I was living in Alamosa Colorado and actually witnessed the migration through the valley, east of town one evening , and there were more than 500 mule deer in a massive body migrating towards the south. Could not believe the sea of antlers and bodies as they blocked the only main highway, while we were on the way to Walsenberg pass going to Trinidad. The local older people knew about this annual migration but never spoke of it. Have never seen anything like that since.
@@peabrain6872 These areas have hunted for years and the hunting community wants to protect these routes. We get the importance of proper wildlife management and know the importance of the research of same. The statement in this video that makes it sound like this is a new discovery is very misleading. The University of Wyoming and Wyoming Game and Fish have been well aware of this migration for a great many years. This is NOT a new discovery.
Wow!!!! That's so cool. It's not every day you get an intimate look at these animals and observe their behavior without human hunting pressure. I too was surprised by their vocalizations as they crossed the river. Kudos to the Wyoming Migration Initiative for undertaking such a valuable study. Supporting research projects like this is one of the reasons I joined RMEF. Well done!
In November 2023, I saw a 45 minutes documentary in an iMac theater at the Fleet Science museum on the migration of all the animals at Serengeti plains. It was a treat since I can't be there.
Love to see that we humans haven't left too big of a footprint yet,to where it stops beautiful,and natural things like this from happening. Great footage,thanks for sharing.
The population of migrating ungulates would be higher if it wasn’t for our human interference. Many probably break legs or get horns entangled because of the fencing and other obstacles we ignorantly place.
@zizimycat but those individuals that do get through do so because they are more agile, better at problem solving, and/or more cautious of dangers and are the ones that pass on those traits. The ones that don't survive would be more likely to have offspring that also wouldn't be able to overcome those same obstacles. A good example of that where I live is how the whitetail handle roads. Most of the older deer know to be cautious of the roads and even go so far as to look both ways and either wait until it is clear or until traffic is stopped bothe ways before crossing. There are still deer that get hit, mostly during late summer/early fall when older fawns are starting to strike out on their own more and bucks are in rut. Still, as time goes on even though the deer population is gradually rising the number of deer being hit specifically in our area actually has gone down the past few years because the deer themselves are getting more road wise.
Didn't a conservation group team up with a state group to build a bridge so the migrating deer could cross a major highway safely? Thought I read about it some place.
The same in British Columbia Canada, they build tunnels under the highways or bridges over them and cover them in grass, rocks and trees to make it seem as natural as possible.
Have you ever seen satellite pictures of land? Flown in planes over the country? Our footprint is tiny, and there is endless unclaimed and unused lands for deer to play. It's not as bad as you hippies always try to make it sound.
Stonemperor Yep, you're right. It's interesting, if you look at the southern tip of the migration route, you'll notice they're getting stuck at the highway.
I agree. It was the first thing I noticed. Beyond ridiculous. The original peoples of these lands would never. Colonizers doing what colonizers know best without regard for the land and its inhabitants no matter the species. The time is up though…
Kenny Rodger they do walk the streets. and i keep thinking to myself. man my bow really aint that loud, i wonder which of my neighbors would tell on me.
And video games, movies, books, science, space missions, sports, agriculture, and many other great things. What's your point? Do you think fences have had much of an impact on deer? It's not a big deal.
This is excellent information. Landowners need to allow migratory animals, birds, bees and butterflies the freedom of movement and native plants to eat on their way.
@@jimhansen5395 There are clear and easy modern way to do that. One would be to keep them in large enclosures and transfer them from enclosure to enclosure as needed. It is a proven method. They don't need to use "public lands."
Yes, I agree the vocalization made me go back 20 seconds to hear again and again to enjoy. Some of the babies were small. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Thats sort of stating the obvious though, seeing as how dead, extinct organisms are no longer biotic factors and therefore not considered nature. Cool vid.
No nations, borders, no fences, no doors, no walls, no clothes, no skin ... no barriers for any life! We're all ONE. We're all a SINGULARITY. No sexes, no breeds, no races, no species, no discrimination between creatures! #EQUALITYISMYRELIGION!
yeah, bloody red! We'll be all bleeding and muscley and skeletony and super prone to infection. Better to just start appreciating natural color instead of using it as some twisted excuse to discriminate against people :)
128pagenovella your statement is truer than you realize. Did you know that it was discovered not so recently that grass depends on the herbivores that eat them to survive as much as the grass eaters depend on the grass to survive? And that pack hunting animals are crucial for the survival of both grass and grass eating herbivores. All life on earth constitute a single organism because everything is co-dependent with everything else, just like the cells in your body making up a single organism. But of course, realizing this fact doesn't change human nature. People will remain diabolical bitches until the day the human species goes extinct.
I grew up in this area. I have known about this migration my entire life. There are deer crossings, fences, and warning lights that have been in place for around 50 years to prevent road depredation during this migration. This feels like another urban PHD looking to get published and tell us something we already knew.
if you have know about it your entire life, WHY havent you or anyone in the area ever did anything to help these wild animals to be able to go on this journey, like talk to owners of land to put openings in fences , or a walkway that goes under or over highways, etc.. ANYTHING to help? Ohh thats right you are from wyoming and you think humans are more important than animals, f%$#&^% redneck
I was very impressed with the many huge wild-life flyover 'corridors' complete with upper and middle storey vegetation that cross most of The Netherlands' motorways when I stayed and rode around there in 2011-2012.
Pam Jean I'm pretty sure quite a few of them do. as i'v heard that it's easier to make ways for them rather than them making their own ways with leads to broken fences, holes in fences, etc. I could be speaking out my ass but that's what i'v heard as i never had a migration to deal with when living in montana.
No problem and thank you! Now that I look more closely the cover photo where the buck is jumping over the wall. That MIGHT be an assisted crossing but not positive
Thank you for posting this, and for bringing this daunting journey by such amazing creatures to our attention. We might be the top of the food chain, but we have much to learn from our other-species-neighbors with whom we share this planet. Hopefully-if we are truly as intelligent as we believe ourselves to be-we will find ways of using this knowledge to better the lot of these other species, and therefore, ultimately, ourselves.
In Maine we don't have migrations, but, seeing this in Wyoming is unreal, never knew about this, interesting, got to admit these deer should have help and help keeping their migration route open, great stuff and information.
White tail deer do this every year in Ontario . They migrate to deer yards to stage for the winter.Some travel over a hundred miles as well. Very interesting.
I once saw several hundred antelope crossing hwy1 at Walsh Alberta. They were traveling in single file for as far as I could see to the north and the south.What an amazing sight.
Lyn Goodwin you are obviously anti hunter so if you are you must wish you wer dead because the whole evolution up until your point has had meat involved.
Wyoming is incredible. Back in 1992 I drove from Monrovia, Ca. to Oklahoma to visit my Sister. On the way back I decided to make a right turn at Childress Texas up through Kansas, Nebraska then a left turn at North Platte and on into my destination Casper Wy. I always wanted to visit Casper so I spent the night there then headed west on 26 towards Shoshoni. About 30 or 40 miles outside of Casper I pulled off the highway and just started driving southwest through the wide open landscape. It was like being on the moon. Flat, bare cool, and beautiful to me. Being born in Los Angeles and driving the crazy crowded freeways this was so peaceful and I just felt so free out there. Wyoming is great!
Fascinating, I hope the state is doing what it can to protect the corridor and also make it as easy as possible for the animals to travel from point A to B.
This is one of the most informative videos I have ever seen. And without a doubt the best wildlife behavior video I've ever seen. My congratulations and appreciation go to those who funded it, did the field work and especially to the genius(es) who conceived it. Very, very nicely done.
@norman bates , for all of my 47 years, I have been fascinated with observing insects. I watch all animals and birds that find my yard, but my state is flat, so insects are more available and don't startle like the feathered and the furred. Those that live in colonies and hives provide entire communities for my observation, and they always very busy doing what they do. To be honest, I am a little jealous that they all know what to do. Every living thing knows its purpose except for us. This was not lost on Native Americans, and they credit the animals for teaching their peoples the natural medicines of the earth. This is a common understanding of indigenous tribes the world over, and these cultures still carry remnants of traditions that honor the regional species for their specific natures, Is it fair to associate a desire for the end of dirty wars with naivety? Maybe it seems this way because this is the way we know the world to operate, and once upon a time we believed the lie of spreading democracy. But in the last 20 years America has shown to achieve the exact opposite result as they sold us...unless by "spreading democracy" they meant "install a criminal empire and hide it under the cover of war". It is time to take out our own trash and seek a better way. Maybe we do have the knowledge of our purpose stored within, and for some reason it went dormant. I think if we can manage to be still for long enough and just be, maybe they'll teach us how to remember as we watch them do what they do. Cheers!
@@sourceawry4035 yer jealous of a deer? No thanks, we can do sooooo many fun things and have powerful minds that can always come up with new exciting things to do! Free will just comes with huge price tag. Has a song ever moved you to tears? Deers wouldn't care. Admire nature, but don't worship it folks.
@@gamebro511 lol, that's funny. The more the world advances, the more complicated things become. No matter what mankind achieves, no matter what amazing tech we come up with, the natural world just keeps doing what it does. It's simple and uncorrupt, that's all I'm saying.
This is something we have known, I seen this back in the 80's when I traveled across America and Canada with my pack mule and horse, we traveled across Canada into Alaska and the Canadians never even knew I was there.
My grand dad Lived in Arkansas and had some walker hounds that he hunted dear with. One day they didn't come back. He got a call almost a month latter from a guy said he had his dogs. Grandad asked him where are you at ill come pick them up. The guy said Alabama! True story.
My heart goes out to these deer's for migration 150 miles through all the obstacles in western Wyoming each year and to just think so of them get killed along the way by human, wild animals, tough terrain, fence and sometimes vehicles.
Absolutely fantastic, Hall! What a really amazing story to come across in the course of doing a bit of research! The footage that you put together tells an incredible story on its own. It really makes you wonder how many other things that we have yet to discover about our own backyards. Maybe we should look at your discovery as a cue that it is time to slow down and take a closer look. Thanks for giving us a quick look at these remarkable creatures! Will
I love the people that watch National Geographic and act like they know about wildlife and actually care. Hunters pay more for the conservation of wildlife than ANY and ALL environmentalist groups COMBINED. FACT. I do not condone poaching but I do believe in foraging for food if needed, just as wolves, mountain lions and grizzlies do. I don't know a single hunter who doesn't value the life of the animal they took to feed their family. We do not take taking the life of an animal lightly and are extremely grateful. Just tired of the know-it-alls who just watch a TV show and don't do shit for wildlife and judge people like me who do play a direct part in wildlife conservation and management and place us in the same category as poachers and other malicious folk. Shame on you people for your ignorance and malcontent towards good people in this world just because they hunt.
They are so lovely to see them migrating and talking to each other anxious to get to their destinations the way is so long and with so many obstacles. God bless them to find a save way to a land of plentiful
I would love to see a world without fences and a return to a more natural way of things especially for creatures like this. We humans have drifted far from our relationship to Nature and lost part of our soul.
actually, there's multiple ways that humans have constructed ways for both us and animals to coexist without things like barriers or impassible obstacles for them, such as mammal bridges to cross freeways, tunnels underneath for small creatures like turtles and raccoons, etc. the only problem is that we don't have *nearly* enough. i think every road should have something like this - an alternative, so that we're not jamming our fingers into the lives of these beautiful animals, and making their existence even harder than it already naturally is.
No friend we are part of nature, We just simply like to think of our selfs as different or better than all the rest of other living beings and things. 💖
I never comment on this stuff, but reading these comments below, I would like to shed some light onto the subjects being discussed. Deer, elk, turkey, mountain lions, all species of animals are hunted largely by humans. A lot of people out there call it wrong, but the people that call it wrong don't realize that those who are hunting these animals are also protecting these animals. Hunters contribute more money, time and land to protected animals than any tree hugging, green eating only organization combined. 99% of a true outdoorsman, hunts to provide to their family, friends, neighbors and so forth. There are a few that go and shoot whatever to shoot something. They aren't true outdoorsman, they give us outdoorsman a bad name. But at the same token those are also the people that end up in prison or extremely bad situations shortly after. Not only do true outdoorsman hunt for food they hunt to feed others, they donate money, time, and land to make sure these animals make it generation after generation. Some organizations like Whitetails Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited and etc have single handily provided more funding and work to making sure the herds and flocks are managed correctly during hunting and making sure the land and wildlife surroundings are maintained to make sure these animals survive than any Animal Protections organization has ever done. I have not seen one Animal Protection Agency buy up millions of acres of land and make sure its managed correctly to make sure the animals are protected. They rather take all outdoorsman to court and tie up government money and hard working americans money to do so. They want every one else to do and fund their work for them. For example the Scimitar Horned Oryx was about 300 animals way from being extinct. There was 300 Scimitar Horned Oryx left In the wild, zoos and etc across the whole world. Game farms in the southern US realized the dangers of them becoming extinct, have managed the herds correctly and have now brought close to a million Scimitar Horned Oryx back to the herds. Yes they are being hunted, some are killed every year, but the ranches managed there herds correctly. To shed light on what managing a herd correctly means, allowing a hunter to take an animal that is past age of breeding. Animals life spans are very short compared to humans, which means there breeding spans are even shorter. Ranches manage there herds correctly, hunting guides manage wild life herds correctly. They ONLY allow hunters to take fully matured animals at a quota per year. Now the Scimitar Horned Oryx was doing extremely well. Herd numbers were larger then they ever have been seen, until an Animal Activist stepped in and put an end to the game farms being able to hunt them. The game farms, turned around and decided to get rid of every Scimitar Horned Oryx they had left. Yes they were being hunted, but on a managed hunt before. Only x amount of bulls are taken a year over the course of each herd to ensure that the herd will multiple more and more, these animals cost money to feed, cost money to keep, cost money to manage, but no animal activist wanted to step in and supply the funds to keep them. They want the ranchers to pay all of this money out of there pockets. The herd populations went from close to million to low hundred thousands after the animal right activist won there supreme court hearing. No farmer, rancher is going to pay a bill to feed thousands of animals that does no return investment. This bill was reversed in the supreme court with in a matter of a year and the herds are back to being managed and maintained properly. Bottom line is with out outdoorsman, the animals that you believe you are trying to protect would have been extinct thousands of years ago. Its called the food chain. True outdoorsman take more action and pride in protecting their hobby than any animal activist group out there. I suggest to those ignorant people that think all hunters are horrible people, you should go to your next local Whitetails Unlimited Meeting, Rocky Mountain Elks Foundation Meeting, Ducks Unlimited Meeting or whatever organization you would like to go to. Sit in a meeting listen to the passion and effort that true outdoorsman put into there hobby and then make judgment after you collect all your proper information. Every state and every county manages there animal population, millions and millions of dollars go into this every year to determine how many of x animals have made it through this year, due to weather, the circle of food chain, hunting, road kill and etc, after these statistics are collected the state wildlife program then decides on how many license will be offered in each county for the specific animals to be hunted. Birds are monitored year around, limits change year to year depending on the migration numbers. Deer tags change year to year depending on the county herd population. Don't judge a book by its cover. Until you take the time and learn what a true outdoorsman is about don't profile every outdoorsman as a murderer or poucher. We take pride in our hobby and we take much more pride in protecting our hobby for future generations to enjoy. By the way the biggest threat to all animal population is the animal activist that want to see wolfs reintroduced to their habitats. Michigan has not allowed wolf hunting for years, the wolfs were few from far in Michigan. All animals were heavily populated, now the last few years, deer numbers are dropping dramatically, pets are being killed in there own back yards, cattle ranchers are loosing livestock on a weekly basis and the whole population just multiplies by 20 every year due to the amount of pups they have each year. But no one can do anything about it because someone wants to be able to look at them out their window, but has never had to worry about the dangers of a large wolf population because they live In the city where the grocery store magically makes meat and poultry.
Speak it brother. Is it not more humane to kill a few hundred deer, quickly, with a bow or rifle or to let thousands die of starvation & disease due to over population. It is not hunters vs. conservationists. Hunters are the conservationists.
Brian Roszel Exhibit A-- east end of Long Island, New York is overrun with white-tailed deer. Bad for everyone- patch.com/new-york/westhampton-hamptonbays/deer-overpopulation-prompts-dec-to-expand-hunting-grounds I found a fawn covered with blood-engorged ticks, blinded and weakened by them. Car accidents because of deer are common.
Hunters do not want other predators so they can shoot the deer. They pay for this conservation to happen so they can shoot the deer next year. They only pay for this management so they can keep shooting deer.
Hmm no one has commented on this video in 3 years? I suppose after reading the book Matthew posted three years ago in the comments... must've said it all... Beautiful cinematography and educational... thank you for sharing this video.
I'd alway thought I'd make a great hunter, but if I had one of these majestic animals in my sites I certainly would hesitate! Especially when there's always a McDonald's near by!
What do you mean they are no more? What documentation do you have of this? Or, are you just making up fraudulent information? Or are you expressing a theory of yours that is not backed up by any verified data? When you make claims such as you have made here, you really should cite your source(s).
Ok you must be stupid or something cuz humans don't live like animals! We don't migrate, we don't live under a rock or a tree, we don't eat raw meat (unless it's fish), we don't drink directly out of a river and animals don't have stud like internet, iPads, iPhones, Facebook.....
Just answer me this simple question. Would you rather eat meat that as been factory farmed, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, fed on rubbish, animals have never seen daylight, kept in tiny pens were they cannot even turn around. OR eat wild hunted meat, which has lived free, is free from all drugs and hormones and has eaten a natural diet?
IASKWHY Yes well observed, sorry! Not eating meat (vegetarian) or not eating all animal products like milk and eggs (vegan) are also two choices, so I stand corrected I missed them out, sorry. No sarcasm either, both of those are valid choices too :)
5.7 million views! Proves so many humans care about their planet's amazing animals & natural environment. We can all team up to learn about and preserve it!
