Captive elk to gain freedom next month

The 130 or so tick-infested wild elk being held in captivity will likely be released sometime in early to mid-June, say officials with the Yukon's wildlife branch.

The 130 or so tick-infested wild elk being held in captivity will likely be released sometime in early to mid-June, say officials with the Yukon’s wildlife branch.

Biologist Rick Ward explained Friday that as the calving season approaches, a two-kilometre electric fence is being erected around the perimeter of the holding pen as an extra precaution to make sure bears and other predators aren’t able to get in.

“Clearly, we are going to keep a fairly close watch on what happens there to make sure these calves remain healthy,“ he told a news briefing.

One pack of wolves, Ward added, has already been around but wasn’t able to get inside the big game fence that surrounds the 21-hectare enclosure.

Ward said they’re not sure how many of the 60 to 70 adult cows are pregnant, though he did note that pregnancy rates among other ungulate populations like caribou are generally around 80 per cent.

The elk were herded by helicopter into the enclosure at the Laprairie Bison Ranch west of Whitehorse off the Alaska Highway as an attempt to minimize the threat of the winter tick spreading to indigenous moose and caribou populations.

There’s been no evidence that the winter tick has spread to indigenous species.

Ticks drop off their host in the spring. The females lay their eggs on the ground, and over the summer the larva mature, and wait for an animal to walk by so they can latch on and begin the cycle again.

If no host shows up, there’s no bus for the ticks to catch and they eventually die with the onset of the cooler fall and early winter temperatures.

Ward explained the elk will be released once the ticks have dropped off and the calves are strong enough.

By confining the elk, wildlife managers maintain they are able to control where the ticks drop off, then isolate the paddocks so there are no hosts for the ticks to cling onto.

The 130 elk in captivity represent about 80 per cent of the Takhini Valley herd.

Ward said controlling 80 per cent of the tick-infested elk will presumably reduce the risk of spread in the Takhini Valley by 80 per cent.

The same group of wildlife experts from the Yukon and beyond who met this past winter to discuss a management strategy will be convening again in June to discuss future management plans.

Preparations by the Department of Environment are being made to construct its own enclosure over the summer, at an estimated cost of $40,000.

Ward explained the game farm fence at the Laprairie ranch is not high enough to contain an adult bull if it wants out, as three have jumped it already.

Subsequent to the main roundup, three bulls were darted and transported to the enclosure.

Once the drug wore off, however, they became were fairly stressed and subsequently leaped over the fence, wildlife lab technician Philip Merchant explained.

He said the cost of the elk capture and care of the animals to date is up to $80,000 to $85,000.

Attempts continue to try to accustom the elk to a meal of corn, so it could be used as a vehicle to deliver medication.

Efforts to manage the tick infestation among the 60 to 70 elk making up the Braeburn herd has largely been limited to monitoring and providing the un-medicated corn meal at feeding stations in the area.