Elk Calf Lives Happily Ever After-proper actions of locals have happy ending

On June 8, Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Mark Bowen of Pinehurst received a call from the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office regarding a calf elk injured in the Silver Vally. Bowen responded to the area to find a young calf elk, less than a day old, lying next to the road below a cliff. Local residents on the scene believed the calf had broken its legs in a fall. While it may have taken a tumble, Bowen's examination found no broken legs, rather a calf elk that was not yet stable due to its recent arrival to the world. Wearing latex gloves, Officer Bowen moved the calf elk to a flat spot in thicker vegetation away from the road edge and asked area residents to keep their dogs away. Giving them his phone number, he asked that they notify him of any activity they observe, including the cow (mother) elk coming to the area to claim her calf. That evening a message on Officer Bowen's answering machine bore good news. "Mama" had returned and had ushered her calf to safer 'pastures' shortly after the human activity at the site subsided. Bowen was pleased with the good news, adding "It's nice to know people care so much about wildlife, and that we can make a difference out there by helping the public understand the biology of young critters!" Every May and June, a population explosion occurs in the wilds of Idaho. Most species of wild animals birth or hatch their young in the late Spring. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game encourages people to leave wild animals where they find them. In most cases, the adult female is nearby waiting to move her offspring to a more secluded place. Animals reared in captivity are rarely successfully released into the wild. IDFG has only two alternatives when dealing with animals removed from the wild. Volunteer wildlife rehabilitators can attempt to raise the animal and place it back in the wild, but this option often fails because the majority of young animals brought to IDFG are often in poor condition. The animals that do make it have no survival skills and have lost their natural wariness of humans. IDFG can also attempt to place the animals in zoos, but most zoos now refuse to take the animals because of crowding and disease problems. It is recommended that if a small animal, such as a bird, rabbit or squirrel is found near a home, it should be placed back in the nest if possible and left undisturbed. All wild animals have a better chance of survival if left alone, than if raised in a human environment. "Thanks to the proper actions of those who found this calf, this incident has a good ending", added Jim Hayden, IDFG Regional Wildlife Manager.