Sad Day for Elk...

Imagine my surprise on my walk this morning to come across three elk hooves complete with leg from the last knuckle down in the middle of the road.  First thought "where is the cougar?".

Upon closer inspection, it was a poacher- cleanly cut and purposefully left behind.  The legs were fresh and wet from a passing rain this morning.  I suspect this happened last night.  Hunting is illegal in our area- it's a neighborhood and a protected reserve.

There had been a cow and her calf hanging out near where I found the feet, and I suspect the poacher took one or both.  For the last couple years, the elk hunters can't seem to leave this neighborhood alone.  It's just too tempting for them.  The elk up here are used to seeing people and while they aren't "tame" they are very comfortable looking up from their grass, then continuing to graze when you drive by.  Several of the neighbors have named them, and there are few we have come to know.  I was so saddened by this and all I could hope was that it was done humanely and perhaps the person who took it really needed food.

This morning I had taken my camera on the walk to snap some pictures of the changing trees- luckily I was able to document the situation and report it to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  After the photos, I gently kicked the legs off the road.  The feel of the hooves bending at the joint as they moved and the weight of the leg made me realize how strong it was, and how healthy this elk had been.  Again, a sigh of sadness.   This had been a magnificent creature. 

As I suspected, writing about this is therapeutic and one of the great things about keeping a blog. Hopefully next spring we will again see a healthy elk population.  I'll spare you the graphic pictures- they are hard to look at.