Elk Hunting

The Black Hills area of South Dakota has two main big game animal populations, elk and mountain lion. They were the key topics discussed at a public meeting. About 40 people came to speak out to the upper management of the South Dakota GF&P, because they believe the GF&P is lying to them. Lying about the actual depredation of elk by the mountain lions. The public believes that the GF&P gives out too many cow elk tags and not enough mountain lion tags. The elk herds seem to be dwindling, and the number of mountain lions grows.

A portion of the study on the elk in Custer State Park, South Dakota, utilizes a helicopter crew. The helicopter crew will go in first and dart some cow elk, then return and pick up the researchers. When the researchers reach the sedated cow elk, they fit them with implants and radio collars to track their movement, and when they calve in the spring the researchers then also radio collar the calves.

This year after tranquilizing one cow elk, the pilot told the researchers they wouldn't believe it but a mountain lion was trying to make lunch out of one of the drugged animals. Actually it was very believable though, as this is exactly what happened last year.

If you've been following the story on the bull elk that escaped from a farm in Greene County, Pennsylvania, here is some more to the story.

Kentucky Game and Wildlife biologists came up to West Virginia to assist with tranquilizing and transporting the elk to the West Virginia Wildlife Center. Kentucky has an elk population, and their biologists were better equipped for handling this elk.

The National Elk Refuge located near Jackson, Wyoming is currently the winter home to over 6,000 elk and around 600 bison. The animals migrated later this season because of the late spring run off, and they were able to forage for food longer.