On the morning of June 27, 2022, our neighbor Susan texted to say she say heard gun shots at 5:30 am, causing the 100 plus elk herd on the Hidaway property we manage to bolt towards Cable Creek, abandoning a spotted young’n who couldn’t jump the fence. Damn poachers – nothing Daniel Boone-like about these modern-day rifle bearers…shame on them for going after elk out of the legal hunting season. Hunting happens in the fall for those who have bought tags.
There’s lots of different kind of tags; bull, cow, rifle, bow, etc… the overriding strategy is to have a healthy sustainable herd. Late-fall hunting allows the elk to breed around the fall equinox and give birth in the spring, when abundant grass and warm weather maximizes calf viability. Bulls are targeted as they service multiple females, so the populations doesn’t need to be 50/50. Additionally, the bulls are easier to spot in the fall hosting their full rack of antlers.
Don, returning from Hidaway Creek, spotted the lone calf in the tall grass next to the fence, waiting for its mama to come back. We agreed we needed to cut the wire on the fence and free the calf. While approaching the little one we contemplated our strategy, guessing what the calf would do. We thought it was likely to run away, or panic and run into the fence.
Wow, were we surprised! As Don worked the wire cutters the elk calf sniffed his hand. Two wires cut and the calf jumped the fence and came directly to me, its nostrils quivering as it sniffed the air. Now what? I decided to see if it would follow me to the creek. While the baby elk seemed in good condition, it wouldn’t have had any milk or water for over 24 hours. Being late June, calving season is just about ending, making this babe either a month old, or maybe just a couple of weeks. What we did notice is that it wasn’t grazing on grass yet.
I walked to Mud Creek with the calf following close on my butt, just as it would its mother. It occasionally gained ground and walked beside me, bumping me in the hip, just as a rambunctious 3-year-old child would do. We got to Mud Creek where the calf sniffed even more intently and eventually decided to drink from the creek. Mom and Don drove down in the Clipper mini truck, which didn’t seem to bother the calf at all. We hung out for a while, in the cool understory of the creek, keeping a keen eye out for an angry mama looking for her wayward calf. All was quiet.
We decided I should head closer to the calving grounds, which I did, hoping the young calf would smell something significant and make its way back to mama. After a while, I turned back and seemed to have been forgotten by the lost calf, as it did not follow me back. The game warden showed up and continued the investigation, heading over to the calving ground to see if he could pick up any sign of the poacher. We’re all hoping for a happy ending to the calf’s adventure.
Post script: Five days later, we went back to Hidaway to see what we could find… We followed the tracks of the poacher, learning where he entered the property. We did not see any vultures circling and considered this a good sign of nothing dead nearby. Back at the office, I checked the SD cards from the Mud Creek game camera and it appears the baby elk went back to Mud Creek and Mama showed up that evening.
