Sheehy and Varva looked at the causes of spatial and temporal separation between elk, mule deer and cattle. They found that temporal separation was the most important factor for alleviating the encounters of wild ungulates and cattle. Spatial separation was a secondary factor contributing to the lack of encounters, especially between the three major ungulates in this study. Increased ungulate grazing could have the potential to increase conflict between elk and cattle because their dietary overlap is larger than that of elk and mule deer or mule deer and cattle. Overall, the amount of overlap seen between domestic livestock and wild ungulates was quite small and seemed to be showing no adverse affect to either party.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.