Friday — March 12, 2004

Dogs devour elk
in Warm Springs

Spring snow crust enables
pursuit by canines

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"The snow is wet and crusted. Dogs can run on top of that with ease, but deer and elk break through. Dogs will be dogs, and their instinct is to pursue and chase. Some do it for fun, and some do it to kill."

— ROGER OLSON, Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

In separate attacks this month, upper Wood River Valley dogs chased and, in at least one case, killed elk that are weathering the final throes of winter on the valley’s low-elevation south slopes.

"Yes, we’ve got a dog problem," said Roger Olson, Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officer.

Examining the carcass of an elk that was killed by dogs in Warm Springs canyon, Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Roger Olson said he is investigating several additional elk kills that may be linked to dogs. Express photos by David N. Seelig

In the past two weeks, at least four elk have been killed by canines, but only one is confirmed to have been killed by dogs. One other elk was attacked by dogs but rescued by a Fish and Game conservation officer.

In Warm Springs canyon, where an elk was reported killed by dogs last week near Penny Lake, another animal was killed Tuesday night by two dogs.

Early Tuesday evening, Katharine Weekes said she heard a "horrible screaming sound" outside her Huffman Drive home.

Weekes said she went around her home and saw two dogs chasing a young elk down the south-facing slopes of the canyon until the ungulate bogged down in deep snow near the canyon floor.

"One dog jumped on its back, and one jumped on its neck. They took it to its knees and killed it right in front of me. It was awful," Weekes said.

The dogs tore at the animal’s carcass for about 10 minutes and then ran back up the ridge toward the elk herd, Weekes said.

Though she did not recognize the animals, Weekes said they both wore dark-colored collars. One was a large, gray colored malamute or husky. The other was a dark brown dog bearing attributes of a German shepherd.

The bite marks left on a carcass by canines are usually easily identifiable. Express photos by David N. Seelig

Fish and Game officers investigated the scene Wednesday, as well as the one last week near Penny Lake. Conservation Officer Roger Olson said that last week when examining the dead elk near Penny Lake, he saw two dogs high on the canyon wall. He said he could not confirm, however, whether the elk had been killed by coyotes or dogs.

Separately, and on the opposite side of the upper Wood River Valley, dogs have apparently been harassing elk that are wintering in Parker Gulch, east of Elkhorn.

On Wednesday, March 3, Olson said he put an elk down that had been attacked by a canine. There again, he said he was not able to confirm if the animal had been attacked by coyotes or dogs. However, tracks in the snow were not large enough to indicate attacks by wolves, he said.

On Tuesday, March 16, he said he found more evidence that dogs may be involved. He went to Parker Gulch hoping he might hear some activity that could give him a clue about the previous week’s attack.

He said he heard some steady barking, so he strapped a pair of snowshoes to his boots and started hiking up a draw on the north side of the gulch.

After hiking about a mile, he said he came upon three dogs that had cornered an adult cow elk in the bottom of the draw. He said he could see tracks in the snow where the dogs had apparently chased the cow down the side of a ridge. Two of the dogs were animals Fish and Game had suspected of chasing elk in December, Olson said.

Using his handgun, the officer broke the melee by firing some rounds in the air. The dogs ran to the top of a nearby mountain and vanished.

The following day, Olson said he returned to Parker Gulch and observed a number of magpies flying up the draw he had hiked into the previous day. After hiking, Olson and another conservation officer came upon a dead calf elk, "completely consumed," in the same location Olson had scared the dogs away the previous day.

"But I didn’t know what killed it," he said.

He said he saw some canine tracks but, again, could not confirm if they were coyote or dog tracks.

The recent killings and confirmed dog involvement in at least two attacks underscore the need for dog owners to maintain control of their animals, particularly during spring, Olson said.

"The snow is wet and crusted. Dogs can run on top of that with ease, but deer and elk break through," he said. "Dogs will be dogs, and their instinct is to pursue and chase. Some do it for fun, and some do it to kill.

"This is the time of year when elk are in their weakest condition. Elk can’t afford the calorie expenditure."

Though he has not yet confirmed whose dogs are involved, Olson said he will institute fines either under the Blaine County Leash Law or a Fish and Game law applicable to dogs that are permitted to chase big game animals.

Blaine County’s law carries a $163 fine. The Fish and Game infraction carries a $48 penalty.

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