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Relocating 130 elk takes 2 weeks The Associated Press ONE PINE . Bill Clark, a wildlife biologist for California’s Department of Fish and Game, peered into the dawns first rays of sunlight, examining the congregation before him. He was about to supervise this crew of 80 DFG personnel and volunteers through the state’s largest big game capture projects. His goal was to catch 175 to 200 tule elk in the Owens Valley over a two-week period and move them to two sites — the Pozo Ranch in San Luis Obispo County and the Laguna Ranch in San Benito County. “This is about as ready as we can be, I guess,’’ Clark said. ‘‘The key is the chopper (helicopter) driving the elk inside the outer fences (of a trap site). If that works, I’m pretty sure we can shut the gate on them.”’ The operation would take two weeks of 12-hour days weathering the severities of Mother Nature, who pitched icy mornings, hot afternoons, even a snowstorm at Clark’s brigade of DFG personnel and volunteers during the project. In the end, Clark and his team would capture 130 elk and relocate them. The relocation of the title elk had become necessary because of its rapid growing numbers in recent years. The tule elk had prospered in California, with the help of mankind, from an estimated population of 145 in 1904 to about 1,800 statewide today. One problem stemming from the growing numbers of tule elks in Owens Valley was from the elk’s liking for alfalfa. For decades, farmers have complained about downed fences and ravaged alfalfa fields. Biologists estimate there are 600 tule elk in the Owens Valley, which is not described as an ideal habitat for the species. “This is really marginal habitat,’’ said veterinarian Dave Jessup of the California Department of Fish and Game. “Biology textbooks describe the tule elk as a dwarf species of elk, but we're not sure that’s really true. ‘‘When you take these elk and put them in a place like Grizzly Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, where there is excellent elk nutrition, they grow much bigger and the bulls grow bigger antlers.” Over the last two decades, other DFG groups like the one headed by Clark have captured Owens Valley elks and relocated them to numerous spots around the state. Once an elk is captured, it is put me a processing procedure by DFG biologists. “We're going to give them short- and long-acting antibiotics to cover them on the truck ride to San Benito County,’’ Jessup said. ‘“They’ve been stressed, and their immune systems are down. These antibiotics will prevent the shipping fever pneumonia that also affects cattle, sheep and deer.” Each elk would also receive an injection of Vitamin E to stimulate their natural immune responses. ‘I’m also going to vaccinate them for overeating,’’ Jessup aid. ‘“They’re aout to undergo a drastic change of diet, from the dry sage country here to an oaklands habitat. That means new types of bacteria in their stomachs. We'll also take blood samples and check them at the lab in Sacramento for diseases.”’ After processing, each elk was coaxed up a loading shoot and into a truck trailer for transportation. A bed of alfalfa was spread over the floor. Some grazed, while others lay down for a long ride to a new home.
Newspaper Details
Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield, California, US
Fri, Nov 22, 1985
Page 37
Full Page
Clipped by
Tyan W.
USA 30 May 2026
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