The elk gained notoriety after being filmed earlier this month chasing a motorcycle down Highway 200 near Ovando. More than 109,000 people viewed the two-minute clip on YouTube, which was posted on Oct. 9 — the same day the elk was put down.
[After watching the video, titled "Motorcycle chased down highway by elk in rut", it should really have been titled "Motorcyclist provokes elk, knowing its in rut, putting it and other drivers in danger"]
Joe Jaquith, a game warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said they didn’t want to dispatch the elk, but they had received a number of calls from area residents who voiced concerns over the elk’s lack of fear of humans. He added that they weren’t aware of the YouTube video until this week.
“Over a period of time we became aware of an elk hanging out in and around people and buildings, and some people were concerned about it being in such close proximity to people,” Jaquith said. “We watched it for a while and saw how it was going on Highway 200 and causing issues with traffic.
People were stopping to look at it … and once it started getting into the rut, we started getting complaints that is was getting more aggressive. That’s not unusual during the rut, because it’s just biology kicking in, but it became clear it wasn’t going to wander off on its own and it was starting to be a problem.”
He notes that urban deer co-mingle with humans, but that during the rut they also can become aggressive. That’s been a problem in Helena in the past, with one buck chasing a newspaper carrier and trapping him for about 20 minutes under a truck.
When Jaquith sent an officer to Ovando last weekend to check out the situation, the elk — sporting a two-point rack — was “snorting and kicking” at the warden.
“We decided that with the combination of the elk coming around the homes, acting aggressively and interfering with traffic, the best action was to put him down,” Jaquith said. “It’s unfortunate. We don’t like to do it; we like wildlife. But once in a while an animal gets too habituated to people and you know it will come back and cause problems down the road.”
On the YouTube site, Heather Leigh writes that she and her boyfriend were riding a motorcycle near Ovando on Highway 200 on Oct. 3 when they slowed for a truck stopped on the road in front of them. She said the elk approach the truck, jump onto its hind legs and peered into the driver-side window. It dropped back to the ground and walked toward their motorcycle, then abruptly turned and came straight at them.
In the video, she gives a little scream with the elk looking like it’s less than a foot away. Her boyfriend guns the motorcycle, and the elk chases them down the road for about a minute until they speed away.
Glenn Collins of Ovando also had a close encounter with the elk. He was leaving a friend’s house at dusk recently when his buddy called out and told him to come back to the pasture along with another guy.
“That elk stuck his face to the side of my neck and licked me to the top of my head,” Collins said. “It was dark and I didn’t see well, so as the elk was licking me I put my arm up, and it was around its neck. There was no aggression there. None. I gave him a little air space and he just hung around.”
Even though the animal appeared tame, Collins said he understands why the game warden put down the elk.
“I think someone is trying to say Fish and Wildlife did something wrong, but that’s not correct,” Collins said. “Public safety is primary over everything else. You can bet that elk was absolutely a danger or they wouldn’t have put him down.
“If you humanize that elk and that elk gets to be a problem, that’s our fault and not the elk’s fault,” he added.
At times, Jaquith said, they can try to tranquilize and move animals that get habituated, including elk, moose, mountain lions and bears, but they don’t do that when it’s too close to hunting season.
“You don’t want to pump them full of narcotics and have someone harvest them,” Jaquith said.
The elk was field dressed and donated to a local food bank.
(Independent Record - Oct 16, 2013)
Uh we harvest wheat ~ why do we allow this term used on animals ? Also, so why do the game wardens not have a holding pen to monitor and take care of animals in need of relocation? Why not stop traffic for a few minutes on highway 200 (a two lane road), if the elk is close to avoid him running in traffic. Dart him and relocate him to a wildlife rehabilitator, zoo, or other remote part of the park. So band or tag him so an idiot wanting him as a trophy someday knows not to eat him. Why is everything we do regarding wildlife in the end result all about some moron hunter ?
ReplyDelete