Bangs Vaccine Tests
Underway On Wildlife

CHEYENNE, Wyo. —(AP)— Wildlife biologists plan to study whether a brucellosis vaccine is safe for elk, buffalo and pronghorn antelope in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently shipped 107 pronghorn antelope to Texas A&M University for the federally funded study, led by Louisiana State University.

Brucellosis is a disease that can cause miscarriages in cattle and recurring fever in humans. Ranchers worry that brucellosis in elk and buffalo could spread to their cattle.

Wyoming Game and Fish will test the vaccine on elk. The Agricultural Research Service of Iowa will test the vaccine on buffalo.

The antelope are being tested because they could inadvertently consume the vaccine if it is administered to elk and buffalo in bait form, officials said.

The state trapped 192 antelope on private land north of Chugwater. Officials released the younger ones after tagging them so their seasonal movements can be monitored. The site was chosen because more than 400 antelope are damaging wheat and pasture there.