12-08-2006, 03:10 AM
Wyoming Game and Fish Department records indicate the elk was captured April 15, 1987 on the Bald Range and a metal tag placed in her ear. The cow elk was already an adult at that time.
The antique tag intrigued Mountain View game warden Rick King.
"The tag is the older badge-style with the number 026D," King said. " I knew we had done some tagging/collaring in the late 1980's as part of the Hickey Mountain oil development analysis, but I couldn't find any records that would indicate when or where this old gal was ear tagged. I was able to correspond with biologists in the region, who were able to find the original tagging data in the Game and Fish reports."
Craig L. Sax, North Cody Game Warden, was the game warden in Mountain View in 1987 and worked on a project in which this cow elk might have been tagged. Sax is pleased to actually see results of his capture and research efforts twenty years later
" We had two capture efforts going on during this time frame," Sax says. "The most important project was the one in which we tested the animal immobilization drug Carfentanil. This was a brand new drug and we tested different formulations of the chemical on elk. Utah State was the lead pharmacological provider of the chemistry science. The biologist was Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) biologist, Jeff Grandison."
"Jeff and I administered the drugs utilizing a helicopter and were our own "˜muggers' (animal handler). We would leave one shooter/mugger off and the chopper would go pick up the other shooter/mugger and put him to work, then come back after the alternate shooter/muggers. We were pleasantly impressed with the new formulas we used."
Sax jokes "Catch and release hunting proved very meaningful on this occasion."
The second capture effort involved wildlife biologist Gary Fralick and Sax, again.
"We captured elk on Hickey Mountain by use of a portable elk corral trap," Sax said. "We wanted to further document elk seasonal ranges. Scott White was the biologist aid that worked on the Hickey Mountain Project after Gary Fralick. Scott is now employed by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a conservation officer."
Detailed information on the Carfentanil project has been difficult to find, partly because the project biologist in 1987 was working for UDWR.
King reported the cow elk was captured south of Lonetree.
"If this were so," says Sax, "I believe this elk would have been one of the cows caught in relationship to the Carfentanil development project."
Depending on their limiting factors (disease, predators, weather, loss of habitat, etc.) elk may live more than 20 years in captivity and average 10 to 13 years in the wild.
Green River Wildlife Supervisor Steve DeCecco sheds a more philisophical light on the the cow elks journey.
"Wherever this elk was tagged, she managed to evade death for twenty-something years," DeCecco said. "Rarely do we see elk reach 20 years of age in the wild. I'd like to think about the genetic and behavioral contributions this cow elk made to the health of the Uinta Elk Herd. I know elk are adapted for their habitats, but this a feat."
"We don't always get to see results of our wildlife research projects. This is an example where we were able to use tools and technology available for wildlife management twenty years ago and know that it works."
Meanwhile, amidst all the excitement at Game and Fish, Fass took the elk to a taxidermist and plans to make some elk skin clothing to use at future Fort Bridger Rendezvous.
The antique tag intrigued Mountain View game warden Rick King.
"The tag is the older badge-style with the number 026D," King said. " I knew we had done some tagging/collaring in the late 1980's as part of the Hickey Mountain oil development analysis, but I couldn't find any records that would indicate when or where this old gal was ear tagged. I was able to correspond with biologists in the region, who were able to find the original tagging data in the Game and Fish reports."
Craig L. Sax, North Cody Game Warden, was the game warden in Mountain View in 1987 and worked on a project in which this cow elk might have been tagged. Sax is pleased to actually see results of his capture and research efforts twenty years later
" We had two capture efforts going on during this time frame," Sax says. "The most important project was the one in which we tested the animal immobilization drug Carfentanil. This was a brand new drug and we tested different formulations of the chemical on elk. Utah State was the lead pharmacological provider of the chemistry science. The biologist was Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) biologist, Jeff Grandison."
"Jeff and I administered the drugs utilizing a helicopter and were our own "˜muggers' (animal handler). We would leave one shooter/mugger off and the chopper would go pick up the other shooter/mugger and put him to work, then come back after the alternate shooter/muggers. We were pleasantly impressed with the new formulas we used."
Sax jokes "Catch and release hunting proved very meaningful on this occasion."
The second capture effort involved wildlife biologist Gary Fralick and Sax, again.
"We captured elk on Hickey Mountain by use of a portable elk corral trap," Sax said. "We wanted to further document elk seasonal ranges. Scott White was the biologist aid that worked on the Hickey Mountain Project after Gary Fralick. Scott is now employed by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a conservation officer."
Detailed information on the Carfentanil project has been difficult to find, partly because the project biologist in 1987 was working for UDWR.
King reported the cow elk was captured south of Lonetree.
"If this were so," says Sax, "I believe this elk would have been one of the cows caught in relationship to the Carfentanil development project."
Depending on their limiting factors (disease, predators, weather, loss of habitat, etc.) elk may live more than 20 years in captivity and average 10 to 13 years in the wild.
Green River Wildlife Supervisor Steve DeCecco sheds a more philisophical light on the the cow elks journey.
"Wherever this elk was tagged, she managed to evade death for twenty-something years," DeCecco said. "Rarely do we see elk reach 20 years of age in the wild. I'd like to think about the genetic and behavioral contributions this cow elk made to the health of the Uinta Elk Herd. I know elk are adapted for their habitats, but this a feat."
"We don't always get to see results of our wildlife research projects. This is an example where we were able to use tools and technology available for wildlife management twenty years ago and know that it works."
Meanwhile, amidst all the excitement at Game and Fish, Fass took the elk to a taxidermist and plans to make some elk skin clothing to use at future Fort Bridger Rendezvous.