Officials believe the herd of elk must have been side hilling along the ridge line when the animals were caught in a landslide.
Posted on 08/05/2022 7:16:58 AM PDT by SJackson
Officials believe the herd of elk must have been side hilling along the ridge line when the animals were caught in a landslide.
Officials with Idaho Fish and Game made a grisly discovery at the base of a steep slope near Lewiston last week. Amidst a pile of rubble and debris, they found what Northwest Sportsman Magazine referred to as an “elk boneyard.” Officials found at least 15 elk heads, along with fur, broken legs, spines, and countless other bones.
“All of this is elk,” says IDFG senior wildlife technician Mark Shepard in a video he filmed of the discovery. “At least 15 heads and four collars found…and a lot of broken legs.”
The collars that Shepard refers to are GPS radio collars that IDFG uses to track and monitor elk. He explained in a press release that the agency had received a mortality signal from one of these radio collared elk earlier this year. The signal came from within Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area, which is located along the Snake River near Lewiston.
“With the data and GPS location provided by the collar, wildlife staff were able to navigate to the location of the collar,” Shepard said. “When wildlife staff arrived at the location of the radio collar, they discovered the surprising but unfortunate story of what had occurred.”
He explained that the elk bones were mixed in with scree material and “boulders up to the size of beach balls,” which led him to believe that the herd of elk must have been side hilling along the ridge line when the animals were caught in a landslide. The slide then apparently carried the elk almost 1,000 feet down a steep, rocky gully.
In addition to all the bones that were found, wildlife technicians came across four radio collars in total. “I’m sure [there was] some scavenging,” Shepard says in the video. “But with so many bones, it’s hard to say which ones go to which collar.”
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Old Indian hunting ground?.....................
This is how dinosaurs fossils are created.
While being given a tour of my husband’s rather large farm, we ended up in a forest of huge trees with absolutely no undergrowth below them. It was breathtaking. There were many, many carcasses of longhorn’s concentrated in one area. Like an idiot, I asked if they went there to die - a happy hunting grounds like scenario. It was explained that cowboys hauled any cattle that died over the years to the area.
Just like the Buffalo Jump around Three Forks MT. The indians used to chase them over a cliff and collect at the bottom.
Very efficient....................
Or the Heads Smashed In Buffalo Jump in Alberta. Much more developed than I remember the Madison Jump site to be (but it has been years since I've been there). The Heads Smashed in site in a World Heritage site with a visitor center and museum.
The Heads Smashed in site in a World Heritage site with a visitor center and museum.
. - . - .
If you can’t get there here’s a good read: https://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Head-Smashed-Aboriginal-Athabasca-University/dp/189742504X
Does anybody even read the article? You don’t even have to leave FR to do so.
How sad for those beautiful elk.
Trolls.
Yup. They keep moving up from Kalifornia. We can't stop them.
Sasquatch
Caught in a landslide. What rotten luck!
We have a beautiful Elk mount in our Family Room that Beau got on one of his hunting trips. I’ve been promised a pair or ‘Elk Ivory’ earrings, but he can’t find where he put the second ‘ivory.’ (A likely story, LOL!)
“Elk ivories are where the canine teeth are and are left over from their ancient ancestors who had tusks where the ivory teeth are today.”
I’m glad to read that this WAS a landslide and not some illegal slaughter.
no escape from reality...
Look, we KNOW elk is one of Bigfoots favorite meals. You know what that means. We have found Bigfoot's dining room. He's around here somewhere....
Lead Elk said “Let’s go this way, it looks safe”....
Sasquatch indeed. They make up some highly unlikely story when it’s where Sasquatch discards the bones of their kills.
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