What do you think is up with this elk?

[HntnFsh]

 Cut some track in the snow today. On the road. Noticed a drop of blood with almost every step on one set. Sometimes just a small drop. Sometimes dime to 1/4 size. Found 2 spots that were about 18 inches wide and 3 to 4 feet long that looked like it sneezed and sprayed blood over that area. Like a light mist. Tracked these elk for at least 2 miles and found the same dime to quarter size blood drops pretty regular. Then they lost me in a swamp. I think it may have an arrow in it that is causing it to bleed. maybe cut a lung or something causing it to sneeze out the blood in the spray pattern I saw. Does that sound reasonable. Never seen anything like it before.

[dreamunelk]

Sounds like a reasonable hypothesis.  Could be many things but, if it is in a late archery area than it is very probable.  However, with out the facts it is just a best guess.

[HntnFsh]

It is in an archery unit. Also open for muzzy tag holders.

[dreamunelk]

Then we could also say possible muzzy wound. 

[KFhunter]

or could have jabbed a stick up its nose 

[dreamunelk]

or could have jabbed a stick up its nose 

Yes, another possibility!

[dbfalls]

Lung blood is light pink in color and frothy looking it's not lung blood. Years ago I had a small limb deflect my shot, the deer was quartering toward me. I hit her in the nose and it went out her left cheek and that's how she bleed for miles. Never found her but I'm sure she died. Only one I ever lost in the 40+ years of bow hunting.

[Come Get Some]

There are many options here. I had a friend of mine in Montana shoot an elk broadside. He recovered half of his arrow . Tracked the elk for miles and never found it. The next year he packed in on horse back to the same area. Hunted the same ridge. Called a nice 6 point bull in and killed it. When he gutted it he found the front half of his arrow from the previous year encapsolated in 1 lung. Yes the elk lived all year with 1 lung and was breeding the next year. They are amazing. Elk have an ounce of blood per pound of body weight and are one of the fastest blood producing animals we hunt .

[coachcw]

this time of year i'd say a wound from a hunter , early season possibly another bull.

[Buzz2401]

Sure it was blood and wasn't just a cow spotting, kinda late but never know.

[jackmaster]

Sure it was blood and wasn't just a cow spotting, kinda late but never know.

or a miss carriage, blood runs down their rear and they shake much like a dog, it generally will look more like a dark peach color, not a urine color and is ofton occompanied by blood, the sneezing part is what gets me, if its actual blood spatter from a sneeze then i would also have to say a lung but generally that blood is alot pinker and frothy 

[BOWHUNTER45]

Sounds like your dwn South    Hoof Rot !!!!!!

[rtspring]

Come on! We all know it was stuck by one of those lousy bow hunters that wound animals.

Like Doc said! " grab some water bottles and snacks, we got tracking to do""

 

[LndShrk]

It was either a Pitbull or Wolf.


 

[jackmaster]

Sounds like your dwn South    Hoof Rot !!!!!!

thats a good possiblity there bowhunter. i havent seen it but i have heard that when the snow fly and your in a place with a bad hoof rott problem, that you see blood trails from their feet all over..... what a sickening disease, i wish they would get it figured out. not to jump off thread here but i bet "THEY" use this as an oppurtunity to help the wolf recovery plan. i can see it now." wolves brought in to help fight the hoof rott epidemic...."

[suga]

Sounds like your dwn South    Hoof Rot !!!!!!

X2

[D-Rock425]

Come on! We all know it was stuck by one of those lousy bow hunters that wound animals.

Like Doc said! " grab some water bottles and snacks, we got tracking to do""

 

. Or maybe it was one of those shoot first ask questions later rifle hunters that shot a 2pt in a 3pt min area and just walked away.  Hmm I've heard this story before

[h20hunter]

Touche'

[HntnFsh]

There was another set of tracks that had blood with them. Pretty sure that one had hoof rot judging from the track itself.

What I found odd was the sprayed blood. Didnt know if a lung injury could do that. But seems likely to me. This isn't about bashing bow hunters or muzzy hunters. Its about what could cause the blood pattern.

The info about how much and how fast an elk could make blood is interesting. Also the encapsulated arrow. Looks like elk can lose a lot of blood without too much threat of it being lethal.

The blood in the spray was definitely a lighter color. So good possibility of lungs.

[h20hunter]

Did you snap any pics?

[leonpeon2]

i had the same thing happen to me over last weekend. down south
Another friend, had stuck a elk but it only wounded it so the next day i found what i thought was its tracks with blood. followed the bloody print threw some thick and thin stuff. never found the elk.
Later to find out that if the blood is in the print then its hoof rot. If it was hurt there wouldn't be blood necessary in the print itself it would be around it.

something i learned on monday from another avid elk hunter.

[rackattack]

Tracked a muzzy bull years ago in the snow that would spray blood every so often, then just drips here an there.  Found out he had been hit in the neck, a few days beforehand, and the spray was from him shaking his head and the blood in the neck hair would go everywhere.

[littlemac]

Tracked a muzzy bull years ago in the snow that would spray blood every so often, then just drips here an there.  Found out he had been hit in the neck, a few days beforehand, and the spray was from him shaking his head and the blood in the neck hair would go everywhere.

Shaking a wound would show the red blood, lung shot would definitely show the pinker shade although I imagine is may be hard to see a differrence in snow depending on how warm it is out.

Pretty good on the different scenarios though, most all are possibilities.

[fishhuntconsume]

im on the hoof rot bandwagon..... seen it many times

[MLBowhunting]

 

[jackelope]

Sounds like your dwn South    Hoof Rot !!!!!!

This.

[crschralping]

The herd could have gone through a frozen creek or ice some where and may of gotten cut up.

[HntnFsh]

I could see the hoof prints in the snow. The one that left the spray didnt have hoof rot. There was another one that did though. I didnt get a picture. It did look a lot paler color than where the blood had just dripped. But hard to say as it was diluted in the snow and much lighter spray.Not drops. I'm kind of leaning towards a non fatal lung injury. The spray was in the same direction as it was standing. And I could only tell one that was limping. Probably the one with the hoof rot.

Ive found blood in elk trails a few times. I think mostly because of hoof rot or cows dripping a little. Ive never seen anything like the spray. But Ive only hunted elk in the snow a couple times. That would probably be the only time a person would notice it cause of the contrast on the snow.

[PlateauNDN]

Did it look like this?

[sled]

Did it look like this?

?  That Looks Like Pee To me.

[PlateauNDN]

Did it look like this?

?  That Looks Like Pee To me.

It varied in light and dark orange to light and dark red as I tracked it.  I was in the area the day before when a fresh layer of powder came down and didn't see anything like this and then the next day at least 15-20 different spots all similar in size on the same set of tracks i followed all day.   Who knows, I never found anything so pee or bad shot placement whatever left it is still alive as of that day.