Page 88 - Ranger Manual 2017_Neat

Animal deaths must be confirmed before disposal of any animal remains. A combination of criteria
is most reliable to confirm death, including lack of pulse, breathing, corneal reflex and response to a
firm toe pinch, inability to hear respiratory sounds, graying mucous membranes, and rigor mortis.
None of these signs alone, except rigor mortis, confirms death. Rangers will use a firearm or
perform cervical dislocation to euthanize injured or diseased wildlife in most circumstances.

Evaluating injured wildlife
Injured wildlife may include walking wounded, diseased, and unresponsive wildlife. Wildlife
should be euthanized when the animal is no longer capable of caring for itself or poses a public
safety risk. Mule deer are the most common species rangers will have to euthanize within Boulder
city limits and on or near OSMP properties. For all species, body condition and mobility are the
primary indicators of an animal’s ability to care for itself. In general, animals with enough mobility
to evade rangers and other personnel should not be dispatched. Animals that are emaciated,
immobile, suffer obvious severe trauma, are unable to eat, or are otherwise mortally wounded may
be dispatched if it is safe to do so.

Disposition of mule deer and other ungulates after dispatch
Sampson’s Law and “Trophy Wildlife” refers to CRS 33-6-109 (3.4) (a) any bull elk with at least
six points on one antler beam, mule deer buck with an inside antler spread of at least twenty-two
inches, whitetail deer buck with an inside antler spread of at least eighteen inches, and any bull
moose. Rangers will contact CPW and consult with them on the disposition, destruction, or
donations of these wildlife parts.

Adverse Conditioning
Deterrents and adverse conditioning only resolve problems temporarily by pressuring individual
bears or other wildlife species to move away from human attractants. Most black bears will return
within hours or days if the attractants are not secured or removed.

Deterrent techniques such as rubber buckshot, rubber slugs, pepper spray, cracker shells, dogs, and
loud noises are heavily relied upon with little long-term effectiveness. These techniques are
important for managing public relations by immediately pushing nuisance wildlife away from
public view; however, rangers should recognize that most deterrent techniques have low long-term
success rates and should only be used as temporary solutions.

Rangers will use less-than-lethal ammunition such as rubber buckshot, rubber slugs, beanbags and
other less-lethal munitions issued with supervisor approval. They should place shots where they are
least likely to injure an animal. In general, animals should be shot with less-than-lethal ammunitions
in the hindquarter and forequarter, avoiding the head and mid section. Rangers may use air horns
and other noisemakers, including blank starter pistol “cap guns” without projectiles. On rare
occasions, rangers may use bear spray or OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray on black bears and other
wildlife species when appropriate. Rangers will not use fire crackers, cracker shells, or other

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