Tagged elk

[Yankee]

First time I'm playing around with a game camera.  I was checking photos today and realized I caught an elk tagged by the state.  I thought it was cool.

[hoyt2002]

Well thats something you see everyday. Cool pic. 

[Yankee]

I take it its more common than I thought.  Oh well, I'm like a kid on Christmas playing with these game cameras.

[fastdam]

Wow...look how skinny that one on the left is.

[Rainier10]

I take it its more common than I thought.  Oh well, I'm like a kid on Christmas playing with these game cameras.

Well thats something you see everyday. Cool pic. 

I think he forgot the "don't" before "see".

[SuperMag]

I checked my cameras yesterday and found something similar... just a whitetail

[bowhunterforever]

I have never seen a deer or elk with ear tag. I have seen deer with collars though

[Old Man Yager]

To bad the Elk aren't required to wear a orange collar!! Gotta stay safe!!

[Southpole]

What would be the reason for tagging a whitetail? Is the wdfw monitoring whitetail that much?

[X-Force]

is the wt a farm transplant?

[johnnyaustin44]

Cool that you can even read the number. I would think you could call someone and get some history on her. This is the only one I've managed to get. 

[Yankee]

Yeah, the thought crossed my mind about emailing someone just to let 'em know.

[SuperMag]

is the wt a farm transplant?

I got the pics of him on private property. I havnt called to find out anything else on the deer yet tho.

[Yankee]

So, emailed DFW with the collar number, and they got back to me within a couple hours with the history on the animal.  Pretty interesting stuff!

Hi David.  Thanks for the info.  The elk you photographed was part of a research project that we were conducting in 2003-2007.  We first captured her at the West Valley feedsite (just west of Yakima) in January of 2003 and fitted her with a radiocollar then.  The following winter, she wintered at the Oak Creek feedsite, and she continued to winter at Oak Creek for the following 3 winters.  Usually elk have strong fidelity to both summer and winter ranges, but this cow obviously moved her winter home range between December 2002 and December 2003.  She wore her radiocollar for about 4 years, until we removed it in December 2006 and replaced it with the neckband she is wearing in your photograph.  During the study, we captured her 6 times across the 5 winters (winter 2002-2003 through winter 2006-2007) to assess her body condition (fat level) and her reproductive status.  She was 8 years old when we first captured her and would be 19 years old now.  That’s getting pretty old for a cow elk, but they can sometimes live into their mid-20s.  During the time we radiotracked her, she typically summered in the vicinity of Bumping Lake and American Ridge.  .
 
 
 
Scott
 
 
 
*********************************
 
Scott McCorquodale, Ph.D.
 
Deer and Elk Specialist
 
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

[Southpole]

Wow, that's pretty cool! She appears to be in great shape for her age.