Elk study targets population control, CWD

Wildlife biologists watching research in national park

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky

A 15-year-old cow elk is tranquilized Friday at the park.

Park Service veterinarian Margaret Wild took aim with a sleek, green metallic rifle, darting her target elk in the hip with a knockout drug that had the creature on the ground in just a couple minutes.

A five-member team surrounded the animal, working quickly in the snow and fast- dropping temperatures. They blindfolded the cow to help calm her, drew blood, checked for pregnancy, snatched a piece of rectal tissue, collected saliva, injected a birth control drug and attached a radio collar to track the animal.

Finally, a shot of drugs to reverse the anesthetic.

The 15-year-old creature, groggy, lifted her head, slowly climbed to her feet, stumbled a bit, then, regaining her senses, trotted off to join her herd waiting 100 yards west in the park's Beaver Meadows.

"Atta girl!" one of the researchers whispered.

So begins a major research project, where, for the first time, wildlife veterinarians will test the effectiveness of a fertility control agent as well as the accuracy of a new live-animal test for chronic wasting disease in elk - a study watched by wildlife biologists around the country.

Ideal testing ground

In all, researchers will target 120 Rocky Mountain National Park elk. The cooperative creature hit Friday was No. 83. Researchers just began the job this month.

Early indications are that both the birth control drug, called GonaCon, and the live CWD test work. But the testing so far has come on captive animals. Researchers won't be satisfied until they see if the agents work in the wild.

Rocky Mountain National Park, as it turned out, proved to be an ideal testing ground.

That's because, parallel to this research, park managers are embarking on a program to reduce its elk population.

An inflated elk herd in recent years - exacerbated by no hunting allowed inside the national park and a lack of predators - has damaged the park's ecology.

The elk are over-consuming aspen and willow needed to support healthy stream systems and beaver habitat.

The park's plan to trim the herd calls for sharpshooters, under Park Service supervision, to cull as many as 200 elk per year for up to 20 years to bring the elk herd under control.

Because the 120 elk in the birth control and CWD study will eventually be killed, the research fits into the park's broader plan to cut elk numbers.

"It's given us an opportunity," said Wild. "Part of the beauty of this project is we're learning a lot of different things from the same group of animals."

Any elk in the research study that test positive for CWD, a fatal disease, will be euthanized shortly after the test results come back.

Remaining elk will be taken at a rate of 40 per year for three years.

That's so researchers can examine them to make sure the fertility control drug isn't having unintended effects on the elk's health.

Sixty of the 120 elk are given the drug, while 60 will act as a control group.

Despite the research, there are no near-term plans to use the birth control drug as a method to keep elk numbers low in the park.

Researchers admit its costly and impractical to use on a large scale.

As for the CWD test, researchers hope it gives officials a better sense of the disease's prevalence inside the park.

There's also hope that using a live test could make it easier to target infected elk, remove them and reduce the spread of the disease.

Got elk?

Elk are the subject of much attention within Rocky Mountain National Park. A summary of the situation:

* Culling the herd: Park Service personnel recently announced a culling plan, over 20 years, to reach a target herd size of 1,600 to 2,100. Though the plan calls for shooting up to 200 a year, it may not be necessary to kill nearly that many, or any.

* Birth control: Wildlife researchers embarked on a project this month that will test a fertility control agent for the first time on elk in the wild. The drug won't be part of any near-term solution, though. It's costly to administer.

* CWD test: Researchers are beginning a project that will test living elk for chronic wasting disease. Previously, elk were killed to determine if they were carrying the disease.

• January 19, 2008

  3:30 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  forwhatitis writes:

  When is our DOW going to stop playing god to these creatures? We have intervened to kill all their predators, then not allowed hunting to keep the population under control, kept animals in pens next to domesticated animals back in the 70's which caused CWD to migrate to mule deer, and now we're going to use birth control on them? What a joke.

• January 19, 2008

  7:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  natasha writes:

  What will the tree huggers do now? Hmmm the ecology or the animals? Quite a quagmire you have caused.

• January 19, 2008

  9:02 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Firefox writes:

  God forbid we allow hunters and reintroduce natural predators to complete this work at no cost as hunters pay for themselves. Instead lets bleed tax payers some more for contraceptives, and to pay someone to cull these elk. A sharp shooter killing hundreds of elk in one day is less cruel than hunting & giving the elk a fighting chance, come on you city dwelling, liberal twerps.

• January 19, 2008

  9:45 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JustSayin writes:

  God forbid we ever have citizens with enough knowledge to realize that the CDOW has absolutely NO SAY on what happens within the boundaries of any national park in Colorado. Or smart enough to realize that it would take an act of Congress to allow hunting in a national park.

  And of course it's too much to ask that people actually read and try to comprehend the detailed and comprehensive management plan that was YEARS in the making before they start spouting off in forums.

• January 19, 2008

  11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  cakeckh writes:

  Birth Control Pill for Elk... Priceless.

  Our federal tax dollars at work! I can just see the sign now as I enter in to the the National Park.

  Warning: Mad Elk Bulls
  Elk Birth Control Project
  Funded by your Tax Dollars

• January 20, 2008

  6:57 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hakj writes:

  Isn't it great that man knows enough through our tree hugggers to play God? Man I feel more enlightened and safe now. I get to spen more of my tax dollars and what? Humans that think they are God? We are encroaching on their land. As firefox said, "God forbid we allow hunters and reintroduce natural predators to complete this work at no cost as hunters pay for themselves."

• January 20, 2008

  7:37 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  fcada writes:

  God forbid that a Tree Hugging Liberal lives in the country and loves to hunt. Labels have their limits so I try not to use them too much. There are problems with doing what seems simple like allowing hunters to hunt elk in the park. Maybe these problems are not insurmountable but I would like to suggest a way around these problems. Elk stay where they feel safe. They are smart animals and have learned to survive regulated hunting as their numbers show. Allow park rangers to shoot several elk in the big herds. Then chase them out of the meadows while shooting blanks or use fireworks to put fear into them. The elk will leave the park where licensed hunter can reduce their numbers and fill their freezers with healthy meat. Do this every year and there will be fewer elk destroying the habitat. The elk numbers will be reduced to a sustainable level and hunters will be happier. To me this would be a more quality hunt than shooting a content Daisy elk in the park.

• January 20, 2008

  10:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hikingartist writes:

  Blame the tree huggers will ya? Look dunces, the planet ran itself for millions of years, and species and forests thrived. Then mankind and ensuing civilizations came along. In the name of progress and development, species have been eradicated, roads have been cut changing migrations paths, waterways dammed and diverted, forest chopped to the ground and now just for convenience we are raising the temperature of the planet. You don't think conservatives have contributed to wildlife problems?
  Neither the tree huggers or conservatives are entirely responsible; the difference is the conservative movement appears to continue down the same path of destruction, while tree huggers are trying to preserve or repair, the environment.

• January 20, 2008

  10:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hikingartist writes:

  Oh yeah, regarding the story; I think conservative pro-lifers with bullhorns and giant signs with pictures of elk fetuses on them should descend on RMNP. That would show those tree huggers a thing or two.

• January 30, 2008

  8:55 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Aleidiscope writes:

  Why is it that every time people mention animal populations people get upset about tree hugging hippies? And why do other people get on their soapbox about respecting animals without thinking about a bigger picture?

  I am a huge animal lover and always will be. But here's the deal. There are too many elk and not enough predators. If no predation occurs, the elf population will continue to grow, completely throwing off the balance of the ecosystem. So, instead of just allowing all the elk to be killed (because hunting is a very effective way of maintaining balance) they can try to HELP the animals by reducing fertility and therefore reducing the population size without killing anything. And yet you still get upset.

  I have no problem with hunting. Provided that the animals are used. Go ahead and display it, but don't waste anything. I could never shoot an animal, but I have no problems eating elk jerky when friends of mine have gone hunting.

  Please, before picking fights or ranting about cruelty, get the facts. Because I may be just another tree-hugger to you, but I'm a wildlife biology major and there's a lot going on that you may not realize. If the CDOW stops intervening, you can say hello to an elk infestation and goodbye to the natural ecology of RMNP.