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30 Tule Elk Captured During "High-Tech Roundup"
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Contact: Jon Fischer, DFG 916-653-9409 or
John Fulton, USFWS 209/826-3508
SACRAMENTO — Los Banos - During an event that could be considered a high-tech roundup, state and federal wildlife experts captured 30 tule elk Jan. 30 and 31, at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and moved them to other areas of the state.
Instead of the traditional horse and lasso, however, this high-tech event used a helicopter to pursue each elk, a net shot from a handheld netgun to subdue the fleeing animal, and ground crews to help safely restrain the animal. Each animal was brought to "base camp," where it was checked by a wildlife veterinarian crew, guided into a waiting trailer, and then driven to the relocation site.
The elk were captured and moved to relieve overcrowding at the wildlife refuge, located near the town of Los Banos in Merced County. "Over the past several years, the tule elk population at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge has grown to about 70 animals, which exceeds the habitat capacity," said Jon Fischer, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist who heads up the state's elk program. "The management plan for the refuge calls for a maximum of 50 animals."
In addition to a helicopter pilot and "net-gunners" experienced in wildlife immobilization, the capture crews included more than more than 50 wildlife biologists, veterinarians and other employees of the DFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as, volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Of the 30 tule elk captured during the two-day event, thirteen were taken to southern San Luis Obispo County; six to the Payne Ranch area of Lake and Colusa counties; and 11to southern Monterey County.
California's Tule elk is one of the best wildlife management success stories. Once teetering on the brink of extinction-by some accounts there were only a few tule elk left in the 1870s-they have been restored to healthy numbers through decades of capture and relocation operations. Today there are approximately 3,600 tule elk in 22 herds statewide.
The challenge facing today's tule elk managers is finding areas of California within historic range to accommodate the animals, which weigh up to 900 pounds and have little regard for fences and other property boundaries. Wildlife managers use a combination of relocation and regulated hunting to control tule elk populations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact: Jon Fischer, DFG 916-653-9409 or
John Fulton, USFWS 209/826-3508
SACRAMENTO — Los Banos - During an event that could be considered a high-tech roundup, state and federal wildlife experts captured 30 tule elk Jan. 30 and 31, at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and moved them to other areas of the state.
Instead of the traditional horse and lasso, however, this high-tech event used a helicopter to pursue each elk, a net shot from a handheld netgun to subdue the fleeing animal, and ground crews to help safely restrain the animal. Each animal was brought to "base camp," where it was checked by a wildlife veterinarian crew, guided into a waiting trailer, and then driven to the relocation site.
The elk were captured and moved to relieve overcrowding at the wildlife refuge, located near the town of Los Banos in Merced County. "Over the past several years, the tule elk population at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge has grown to about 70 animals, which exceeds the habitat capacity," said Jon Fischer, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist who heads up the state's elk program. "The management plan for the refuge calls for a maximum of 50 animals."
In addition to a helicopter pilot and "net-gunners" experienced in wildlife immobilization, the capture crews included more than more than 50 wildlife biologists, veterinarians and other employees of the DFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as, volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Of the 30 tule elk captured during the two-day event, thirteen were taken to southern San Luis Obispo County; six to the Payne Ranch area of Lake and Colusa counties; and 11to southern Monterey County.
California's Tule elk is one of the best wildlife management success stories. Once teetering on the brink of extinction-by some accounts there were only a few tule elk left in the 1870s-they have been restored to healthy numbers through decades of capture and relocation operations. Today there are approximately 3,600 tule elk in 22 herds statewide.
The challenge facing today's tule elk managers is finding areas of California within historic range to accommodate the animals, which weigh up to 900 pounds and have little regard for fences and other property boundaries. Wildlife managers use a combination of relocation and regulated hunting to control tule elk populations.
