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| Summer Internship Ventures Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, Montana & Wyoming |
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| While attending UMass I partook in two exciting summer internships in order to gain experience in my areas of interest and become familiar with the American West, which I have always been drawn to. I pursued both independently and organized an agenda with the agencies of whom I was employed under. My first internship (summer 2000) took place in Montana and Wyoming under the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range (PMWHR). I was a Wild Horse Program Field Intern and studied predation by black bears and mountain lions on the wild horse herd, and predator distribution throughout the wild horse range. This was my first time away from family (other than being away at college), and my first time out west.
Located in south central Montana and north central Wyoming, the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range was set aside in 1968 to protect a unique breed of mustang derived from Spanish ancestry. It covers over 30,000 acres of land, which consists of a very diverse, remote, and rugged landscape (high meadows, rugged juniper-covered foothills, and colorful desert-like badlands). Overlooking the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, the wild horse range is a mysterious place that few have ventured to, and a place that one can never forget. Daily activities involved driving on backcountry roads in rugged terrain, extensive hiking in moderate to high elevations, and outdoor work in extreme weather. My research partner and I were responsible for locating evidence that predation was actually occurring within the Pryor Mountain wild horse herd. This was done by responding to leads provided by fellow interns following the horses themselves for other study-related purposes. They would let us know when a foal turned up missing, and the location the foal was last spotted. Then we were off to investigate! Unfortunately we were not able to recover all missing horses, but from the few we did find, mountain lion predation was definitely evident. Various data and photographs of the deceased were collected as proof of lion predation occurring. And we frequented known carcass sites to document scavenger activity. My first time observing black bears in the wild occurred while checking on a deceased mare that fell from a cliff after being struck by lightning. The bears were seen several times feeding upon her carcass until all that remained were bones and hair from her mane and tail. My research partner and I learned how to track mountain lions with the assistance of an accomplished lion hunter. We also set up various scent stations throughout the wild horse range to record predator tracks as further evidence of their use of the area. And we interviewed local ranchers, hunters, and members of the Crow Tribe (who gave us a tour of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, telling us the story from a Crow’s perspective). Please visit Tornado to read about surviving a tornado in Wyoming at the end of my first week on the job. PHOTO GALLERIES Living Quarters Photos Britain Springs Administrative Site, Cabin & Wild Horse Corrals Wyoming Ranch Horses Wyoming Tornado Predation Field Work Photos Predation Field Work ~ Mountain Lions Predation Field Work ~ Black Bears Predation Field Work ~ Miscellaneous Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Photos Wyoming Wild Horses East Pryor Mountain Wild Horses (#1) East Pryor Mountain Wild Horses (#2) Mustang Stallions Battle Scenic & Wildlife Photos Pryor Mountain Bighorn Sheep Scenic Pryor Mountains ~ Wyoming Portion of the Wild Horse Range Scenic Pryor Mountains ~ Montana Portion of the Wild Horse Range Scenic Pryor Mountains ~ West Pryor Mountain & Custer National Forest Historical Pryor Mountains Pryor’s From Horseback Ice Cave Exploration Big Cooley Washout Bighorn Canyon Boatride |
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