Posted on 01/02/2016 3:16:59 PM PST by This_far
A herd of elk was hit by a train east of Helena Thursday morning, killing 23 animals.
The crash occurred near the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Spokane Creek Road, about three miles east of East Helena.
(Excerpt) Read more at mtstandard.com ...
Ive seen a coach car still have a guys skull jelly on it after pressure washing. The head contacted the steel at 90.
Just saw this video on Facebook: A Montana traffic jam on New Year’s Day morning...
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/montana?source=feed_text&story_id=1050897311629241&pnref=story
Elk is fine eatin!
If the roads are salted just right and ya get there before the plows make em road stew, you are absolutely correct.
Don’t tell the tourists though (wouldn’t want them to know how high quality our road kill is)
A far far better death than eaten alive slowly by wolves.
Save an elk, shoot a wolf.
How long ago did you see elk in Yellowstone? The elk herd there is beyond recovery.
Youâd think over a century of trains and close to that of tractor-trailers would have disabused them of that notion by now.
_______________
Evidently evolutionary theory is not working in their favor.
Depends upon ones definition of recovery (no offense intended)(and who does the reporting).
Just like “climate”, Elk move (not so much just north of me now, but I’m told that they have).
Another winter habitat, just south, is showing increased herd.
Yellowstone may have lost population but that may be to the advantage of the park overall.
Too many plant eaters.
I suppose the elk thought it was a ‘train free zone’. I’m sure elk activists will insist that we need train control laws./s
I’ve warned folks not to hang out with elk of that ilk.
Sad news.
Not an animal whacko hugger, Elk meat may be the best meat in the world.
Sad over the loss of elk steaks, roasts, hamburger, tacos, meatloaf, elk sausage for pizza and pasta and elk left overs.
Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks is finally admitting that the North Yellowstone herd, once numbering 20,000 elk, is down to somewhere “near 5,000”.
“Near” likely means closer to 2,000, which is what the serious people on the ground will tell you.
Yes, some of the elk have moved north, but not that many, and those elk are now facing an extended season, from the end of November to MID-FEBRUARY in some areas, because the displaced (by wolves) elk are damaging hay and grass in areas where they haven’t been before.
These extended seasons are supposed to thin the herds down to the “objective level” imposed by FWP, but what it really means is that any number of cows will be slaughtered on certain parcels, while the acreage next door may have ZERO elk in residence, which is surely far below the “objective” numbers.
It is a hell of a way to manage game animals. Everyone involved is disgusted with it, including the front line FWP personnel who know that killing cow elk this time of year usually means killing two elk, because most of the cows are pregnant.
The wolves are the be-all and end-all of game management now, along with grizzlies and lions, of course. The big game populations, elk, moose, goats and sheep are at dismal levels and, as mar mema has suggested above, are viewed by those who care to be irrecoverable.
Imagine if an oil company or a coal mine had killed some ten to fifteen thousand elk and displaced several thousand more...the outcry would be worldwide.
But as long as the government is doing it, we are supposed to look the other way....and most people do.
Truth be told, you aren’t far off.
Some want to move the elk herd (an absolutely ridiculous thought considering their range), others want to move the railroad (ignorance has no boundary).
New, re-newed legislation (carry over from 2015) Montana
Anti trapping. Some won’t agree but they don’t live here.
Some won’t agree but eat non arugula.
Oh my!
And all his clean underwear are in the trunk!
It seems the population of deer here has gotten out of hand.
I see a dead deer on the side of the road almost every week now.
About a week ago saw a family of 5 deer in a urban area.
Yep! Gonna try to fill my cow tag tomorrow morning.
http://www.9news.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/01/elk-idaho-mountain-snow/78184058/
Elk in your basement
Like the sand people they travel single file to hide their numbers.
Where is here? (state)?
They’ve taken a pretty good shellacking in the mid Atlantic from blue tongue and some hard winters according to my dad back there (VA). The crash is apparently up to 40%, but the east of the Mississippi population was around 40 million a few years back, so there’s still loads of them there...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.