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<br />.'.~~' <br /> <br />Table 6. Sightings of bighorn sheep in Grand Canyon during..pre-darn river trips. <br /> <br />Year <br /> <br /> Location Number of Source <br />Date Trip Sheep <br />July Wright Grand Canyon U Unpublished diary <br />Mdy:22 Keilly forstcr <Iud Stolle Creek If<lcks Ullpublished diMY <br />June Reilly Grand Canyon () Unpublished diary <br />July..! Reilly Bnucher Creek 10 Unpublished diary <br />July 4 Reilly Elves ChJ5ffi 2 Unpubll$hcd diary <br />MayS Reilly neJr EJve$ ChJ5ffi 2 Unpubli:;ht'd diary <br /> <br />Iq58 <br />1951) <br />1962 <br /> <br />19M <br /> <br />(mile 133.8-R) and again at mile 190. A member of <br />Reilly's 1959, trip saw an alter at mile 19. Olters are <br />now rarely seen in Grand Canyon, although credible <br />observers recorded their presence in the 1970s <br />(Carothers and Brown. 1991). <br /> <br />Large Mammals <br /> <br />Bighorn sheep may have increased along the <br />river corridor since the first river runners (Table 6). <br />Beoinnino with the first Powell expedition (Cooley. <br />" " <br />1988), few river trips saw large mammals along the <br />river corridor. Trips before the turn of the century saw <br />the largest numbers. The most common sightings of <br />bighorn sheep were between Elves Chasm (mile 116.5- <br />L) and mile 126, in the vicinity of Havasu Creek (mJ!e <br />157). and occasionally in western Grand Canyon. <br />Bighorn sheep sightings now are more common. <br />Nevills-Staveley was surprised to see bighorn sheep <br />near Navajo Bridge; no historic river trips had ever <br />seen them so far up canyon (Stockwell. 1989, p. 13). <br />According to Grua. these sheep were introduced onto <br />the Paria Plateau in 1980. and they subsequently <br />migrated into Marble Canyon (miles 0 to 61). Several <br />people indicated they saw more bighorn sheep on the <br />Old Timers Trip than on any other. From the <br />experience of those on the trip who frequently observed <br />the river in the 1990s. we felt we saw very few. <br />Buno sightings became more common through <br />the I 940s and I 950s. The sightings followed the <br />known distribution of the animals. In 1938. Clover and <br />Jotter observed burros on both sides of the river at <br />Diamond Creek (mile 225.8-L). Reilly observed burros <br />at the mouth of Hermit Creek (mile 95.0-L) in 1962. <br />The most apparent populations of burros along the <br />river were downstream of Whitmore Wash (mile <br />188.I-R). Nevills saw a domestic sheep at Spring <br /> <br />Canyon (mile 204.3-R) in 1942; the Stone Expedition <br />killed domestic sheep near Salt Water Wash (mile <br />11.8-L) in 1909 (Stone. 1932). <br />Signs of deer were recorded in diaries. <br />particularly in the reach from about mile 35 to Phantom <br />Ranch !Inile 87.8-R). Jotter and Clover saw a deer at <br />the mouth of Kwagunt Creek (mile 56.0-R) in 1938. <br />Holmstrom noted deer tracks at the mouth of Tapeats <br />Crcek in 1937. Nevills saw a large buck at mile 71-L in <br />1947. Reilly saw tracks at Buck Farm Canyon (mile <br />41.0-R) and Kwagunt Rapid (mile 56.1) and saw a doe <br />at Tanner Canyon (mile 6R.5-L). "Dock" Marston saw <br />many deer in Lava Canyon (mile 65.5-R) in 1948. <br />Several Old Timers mentioned deer swimming in front <br />of the boats in the 1950s; Cross 11 stated he observed <br />deer swimming 6 times on his trips in the I 960s. The <br />most downstream report of deer was by McKee. who <br />found "weathered" antlers on ledges 600 feet above the <br />river at Tapeats Creek. <br />Mountain lions were observed on a Nevills trip <br />in 1947 (mile 215) and a Reilly trip in 1956 (mile 177). <br />Reilly commonly menlioned seeing bobcats or bobcat <br />tracks. He saw a bohcat at mile 200. and bobcat tracks <br />at Unkar Creek (mile 72.6-R), Lava Canyon (mile <br />65.5-R). Nankoweap Creek (mile 52.2-R). Kwagunt <br />Creek (mile 56.0-R). Stone Creek (mile 131.9-RI. Fern <br />Glen (mile 168.0-R). Whitmore Wash (mile 188.I-R), <br />and Gneiss Canyon (mile 23S.9-Ll. McKee saw sign of <br />bobcats at the foot of the Bass Trail (mile 107) and at <br />mile 176. Frost had a special memory of seeing a <br />bobcat in the vicinity of Three Springs Canyon (mile <br />215.7-L). <br />Ringlail cats were also s~en during pre-dam river <br />trips. but only one of Ihe Old Timers remembered food <br />thefts by ringtails. Several Old Timers mentioned they <br />did not cause problems. McKee saw ringtail tracks at <br />six sites between Bright Angel Creek (mile 87.8-R) and <br />Diamond Creek (mile 225.8-L) in 1937, and Reilly also <br /> <br />26 OBSERVArlONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN GRANO CANYON <br />