http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/top/doc4abec1c08965a791165989.txtScientists hunt for clues to elk loss- Custer State Park asks hunters for help in disease check
Sunday, September 27, 2009 - Park officials are getting help from hunters in the elk seasons that began in the park this fall. Along with the regular requirement that bagged elk must be checked in with Game, Fish & Parks officers, elk hunters in the park are also being given needles and vials to use to take blood samples immediately after they shoot an elk.
Sunday, September 27, 2009 - Park officials are getting help from hunters in the elk seasons that began in the park this fall. Along with the regular requirement that bagged elk must be checked in with Game, Fish & Parks officers, elk hunters in the park are also being given needles and vials to use to take blood samples immediately after they shoot an elk.
The blood is then tested for a variety of diseases that could be affecting reproductive rates and calf survival.
"We've had a couple years of poor calf production, so we're going to look first at the bulls and later on at the cows," park resources program manager Gary Brundige said. "We don't have an idea that we have a disease issue, other than the fact that we've had poor calf production. We want some idea of why that production is down."
The herd in the park is down dramatically from a high of more than 1,100 elk a decade ago to about 450, based on a survey last February. The 1,100 level was considered to be too many elk, based on the management plan for the herd and carrying capacity of the habitat in the park.
