Last winter, the 25-year-old custom of feeding the elk in Elkhorn was discontinued. The protests of some residents to this humanitarian effort prompted the decision. Now, winter is coming, and the situation must be re-examined, and I, as an Elkhorn resident, want to ask you, the residents, to see if some other reasonable solution can be found.
The Department of Fish and Game says the elk are wild animals, and they should learn to live in the wild, so not feeding them will teach them this valuable lesson. Sounds reasonable, and could work if we were dealing with "wild" animals. But the elk living around us aren't wild anymore. They have been forced to live among us as we, under the umbrella of "civilization," take from them the land they once claimed as their own. A case in point is the bear who opened a friend's garage door, then opened the refrigerator door and helped himself to the ice cream in the freezer. A wild animal wouldn't do this, a semidomesticated one would. Ever had a fox steal your lunch from your golf cart? Are they wild or semidomesticated?
Many residents of Elkhorn and the Magic Valley have suffered damage to foliage last winter due to the scavenging of the now starving elk. Yes, the Fish and Game people were right, the elk have found other sources of food—the gardens of Elkhorn. I have read about elk and found they not only need food, but they need warmth. Clustering under trees is what they do, and a group found this shelter under trees next to my home.
It seems that the Magic Valley now has another problem. If we continue to follow the guidelines of Fish and Game, the weakened elk are prey to cougars. These animals would follow the elk, probably into our backyards to find their food, now in the form of starving elk.
Could we, as a community find an area not infringing on private property where food could be supplied to the elk? The elk live among us and always will. We love seeing them frolic in the summer, sometimes wandering in the fields or hills, giving Elkhorn a reason for its name. We have taught them well, and they have learned to allow us to take their land and sources of food. Why can't we give some of that back to animals who will never again be truly wild?
Diane Myerson
Sun Valley
