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Show Bighorns On the Decline FORT COLLINS. Colo d'PI Most "endangered species" owe their peril to man. but scientists at Colorado State University say the bighorn sheep, Colorado's state symbol is its own worst enemy. Dr. Charles Hibler, director of the CSU Wild Animal Disease Center, said Monday bighorn sheep, though hunted very little, are disappearing from the state's Rocky Mountains. He said the "die off" rate among the animals has been noted since the late 1880s and he posed the possibility that the 1,800 to 2,000 sheep' remaining in the high country may be threatened with extinction. Hibler attributed the decline in the bighorn population both to the animals' habit of overgrazing a range and to physical afflictions not yet pinned down by scientists. Accordingly Hibler's Wildlife Disease Center is working to determine exactly what ailment is to blame. He said the sheep are vulnerable to bacteria, viruses and parasites and that lungworms which decimate the lamb crop susevery year are a prime pect. Hibler said his group's to date indicates the bighorns, deprived of much of their former range by the of man, have taken to nibbling the leaves of shrubs as a supplement to their nor mal diet of grass, ine snruns, he said, are a haven for snails that carry the lungworm parasite and the sheep apparently are becoming infested through ingestion of the creatures. He said the sheep were hardest hit in 1952 and 1953 when a herd of 1,200 animals in the Garryall area was reduced to 25. Other herds throughout the state were hit equally hard at that time. Hibler said his group now suspects the lungworm parasite, while not necessarily fatal to its host, opens the way for an as yet unidentified virus or bacterial infection. The CSU pathology laboratory recently solved one mystery connected with the continuing death rate when it discovered lungworms in the fetus of an unborn lamb. Hibler said that indicated the parasites can be passed directly from the mother to the fetus. Harold Swope, a Division of Wildlife biologist working with Hibler's team, said specialists are trying to eliminate snails from the bighorn diet by means of nitrogen applications to improve forage on their dwindling ranges. Dr. Terry Sprakern a member of Hibler's research team, said historically the sheep ranged into the lower elevations of Colorado, but that man has denied that area to them through development and transplanted animals. He said he often is confronted with the argument that if wildlife specialists would "just leave the bighorn alone he would get along fine." "That is a true statement," he said, "but one which even the people who present the argument don't understand. To 'leave them alone' means just that, and with the increasing human population in the region, it is impossible for wild animals of any kind to avoid humans for long." Swope said hunting is no problem since fewer than 100 permits for bighorn sheep are issued annually and that only about 20 per cent of those result in a kill. In fact, he said, the CSU research project is funded by federal taxes on the sale of arms and ammunition and division operating funds from the sale of hunting licenses. km you may be sitting on a small fortune Take a look around your home . . . are there items there that you no longer need? You may be surprised at the small fortune you can amass by offering those articles for sale through the Journal Classified Ads! It's easy to place your ad, too. Just make up your list and call 373-505- 111 W r-- I I 1 J r .1 -- ZI Miranda FLORENCE, Ariz. (UPI) -The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has granted a parole to Ernesto A. Miranda, whose appeal to the U.S. Sulandpreme Court resulted in a mark decision regarding the rights of criminal suspects. In its 1966 ruling, the court held that suspects must be advised of their constitutional when t.ieir freedom is rights restricted in any significant Walk way. the celebrated ruling overturned Miranda's sentence on a conviction on 1963 kidnap-rapbeen advised not had he grounds of his rights when he confessed. e He was later retried on the same charges and was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison. Miranda also was serving a sentconcurrent 20 to ence for robbery when the parole was granted Monday. in approvThe board voted it ing the parole, conditioning on Miranda's participating in a Satisfactory work program. Miranda's three previous pleas foi (parole were rejected by the board. A friendly 0. Ad-Viso- r wil help you word your ad for quick results! Parole Won By . . . 373-50- 5 ask for "classified" I . 1 I I I t I |