Sun, Nov 22 2009
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Outdoors: Locating cow elks is tedious work By Connie MertzFor The Daily Item When the search ended, I finally met up with the elk biologist. He was the one carrying the telemetry equipment used to locate cows. Over his shoulder, he carried a device which resembled a car battery, only with knobs and dials. In his hands, he held up a radio antenna. "Each monitored cow has her own signal and number. I usually don't like to search for more than 45 minutes for one calf," he admitted."When I locate a cow, I check to see if her udders are full, and if she appears to have dropped a calf."
He continued, "We wait two days to allow mother and calf to bond before we disturb them." Back once again in game commission vehicles, we drove countless miles in elk territory to an area known as Potterdales. Mark Gritzer, a biologist aide, whose main responsibility is to know the locations of more than 80 radio-collared elk, was certain that today he had located a cow who had dropped a calf. He had seen her in the same area for two days, and this was a sure sign she had a calf hidden nearby. In this area, there were no woodlands. It was surprisingly an active mining operation. Steep hills and low valleys, which were reclaimed surface mine sites, stretched as far as the eye could see. Far into the valley below, the little settlement of Karthaus was visible. Gritzer stood high atop the opposite bank, pointing toward the cow. Suddenly, she took off, and then it was up the group to again space out and search. Underfoot, trefoil and clover made luscious meals for elk. It was easy to understand why elk are present here. Still searching, the group turned around at a crest and started coming down the steep embankment at a different angle. Aiken left the group and walked toward me. We met and chatted, and then continued going the opposite direction from the others. Just as I made a turn to cover more ground, Aiken stopped suddenly, and then he made the announcement we were all waiting for. "Here it is!" he said. As the rest of the group approached, Aiken commented. "It's like fishing. You can fish all day, but suddenly you get that fish and it makes your whole day worthwhile. That's the way it is with finding elk calves. Finding one makes all the strenuous effort worthwhile." I estimated the elk calf to be close to three times the size of a deer fawn. It lay motionless and made no gesture to escape its onlookers. Within minutes, DeBerti and Gritzer stooped down to start the biological process. The sex and age were immediately determined. "How do you tell its age?" they were asked. "We check the umbilical cord. If it's dry, the calf is more than two days old," said DeBerti. The cord was still a little bloody so the biologists estimated it to be two days old. Blood samples were drawn to be later checked in the lab, and then it was weighed. An ear tag and radio monitor were put into place. It was a female elk calf weighing 37 pounds which is slightly smaller than the average. Other information was recorded as well. Gritzer looked around, and said, "someone better be watching for that cow." It was the day before that a 500-pound cow charged him when she heard her calf squeal. Rattlesnakes, a charging cow, steep terrain complete with temperatures in the 80s and nagging bugs is all part of the fun in locating elk calves. Whoever thinks DeBerti's and Gritzer's work is an easy one needs to tag along. Soon we were once again heading for the vehicles. "One thing you learn very quickly," noted Shannon. "When you come to elk country, you make sure you have a tank full of gas and lots of food," she said while we munched on snacks. 
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