Mysterious deaths of elk south of Rawlins investigated

2/21/2004

RAWLINS—The unexplained death toll of elk rose considerably over the weekend as officials from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department searched a rugged 10-15 square mile area approximately 15 miles southwest of here. As of Monday, Feb. 23, the death toll stood at 250 elk, of which only five were bulls. The discovery of dead and dying elk was initially reported to the department on Feb. 8 when a coyote hunter found two elk approximately 15 miles from Rawlins that were alive, but unable to move. Since that time, officials have found dozens of dead and dying elk using an airplane and searching the area on foot and four wheelers.

All of the elk exhibit similar symptoms, particularly the inability to move.

“They are alert, but they just have no strength,” said Kent Schmidlin, Lander region wildlife supervisor. “When we find them, they are lying down on the ground, but they can’t get up, almost like they are paralyzed in their lower extremities.”

A veterinarian from the state’s research lab, as well as a toxicologist and a pathologist are working to determine what is causing the die-off. The elk, which are mostly prime breeding-age cows, are all in good condition and there is no evidence that they have been harassed or run until exhaustion. Nor can the deaths be blamed on Mother Nature.

“It’s a pretty light winter out there,” said Schmidlin. A herd of approximately 600 elk nearby appears to be healthy and unaffected, he added.

About ten of the dead elk are being analyzed in the state vet lab to determine the cause of death and all avenues including disease, poison and other factors are being explored. Game and Fish officials are closely monitoring the situation and expect some preliminary lab results early next week.

“Right now, we are asking folks to stay out of the area so we can do our investigation and find out what is killing these elk,” said Joe Nemick, the lead wildlife biologist in the region. The dying elk are in elk hunting unit 108.

-WGFD-