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Elk migrated here (as in N. America), yes, but their habitat was the northern areas of Montana, WY, Canada, Idaho, Alaska. They were introduced to Colorado instead of migrating here... at least that's according to a biologist/DOW officer I know who seems to be quite knowledgeable about animals and whatnot in this state.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lars
I am under the impression that Elk are plains animals by nature, and are not native to the mountains. I can't imagine many plains animals that wouldn't have migrated to Colorado on their own though.
I once had a neighbor tell me that all the trees in Colorado that weren't located on a mountain were introduced by settlers. I don't know if I believe that either.
So your saying that elk have only been in Colorado for maybe the last 100 years or so? Or that they where basically domesticated and herded here by the native Americans? I have to question this info, I find it hard to believe that an animal that had a range from the south west deserts all the way to the Canadian Rockies had to be introduced to the area right in the middle of their range. In the early 1900's elk where nearly wiped out in the Colorado area but never fully wiped out. Extensive transplant efforts where conducted to bring more animals and new blood lines into the remaining herds. That may be where your DOW friend is getting their INTRODUCTION info. And to Irvin's comment, yes the elk where a plains animal but not exclusively. There mass move to the mountains was pushed by the settlement and pressure of humans.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronin13
I believe elk once covered most of North America - prior to European settlement. They were then hunted into near extinction in Colorado in the 19th century. They were then reintroduced to Colorado from remaining northern herds and were protected and allowed to repopulate.
ETA: http://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/elk.htm
Quote:
Elk History in Rocky Mountain National Park
North American elk, or wapiti, were once plentiful in the Rocky Mountain National Park area. As Euro-Americans settled the Estes Valley, they hunted elk intensively sending much of the meat to market in Denver. By 1890 few, if any, elk remained.
In 1913 and 1914, before the national park's establishment, The Estes Valley Improvement Association and United States Forest Service transplanted 49 elk from Yellowstone National Park to this area. Around the same time, an all-out effort began to eliminate predators - including the gray wolf and the grizzly bear. The resulting decrease in predators and hands-off management of elk hastened the recovery of Rocky's elk population. The population grew to record high numbers in the late 1990's causing deterioration of vegetation and other wildlife communities.
The current Elk and Vegetation Management Plan addresses these issues. The plan's goal is to maintain a more natural population of 600-800 elk in the park's low-elevation valleys during the winter. See the Elk and Vegetation Management page for more information.
What Davsel posted could be the case. All I know is that they're overpopulated now and starting to become a problem in a lot of areas west of Denver.
Before European settlement, an estimated ten million elk roamed the North American continent. The American elk (Cervus elaphus), or wapiti, a Native American word meaning “white rump,” once had the largest range of any deer species in North America. For centuries, the elk has been a picturesque icon of the American west and has provided recreational opportunities for hunters, photographers, artists, and other wildlife enthusiasts. Unregulated hunting, grazing competition from domestic livestock, and habitat destruction from unrestrained timber harvesting, urbanization, and westward expansion throughout the nineteenth century reduced American elk populations to less than 100,000 individuals continent-wide by the early 1900s. Fortunately, the elk’s ability to use a variety of habitats, its opportunistic feeding habits, and positive response to management efforts...
More at link.
http://www.wildlifehc.org/new/wp-con...erican-Elk.pdf
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It really doesn't matter what was 200 years ago. We have to manage what we have now. Even if practices in the past were wastefull by todays standards.
Like folks wanting reparations, get over it. It was the distant past. Live in the present.
Some of us might like historical info, just because. I know I do and it doesn't mean I want an extra free tag for some kind of reparations. Wait a minute, I'd take an extra tag so scratch that.
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I rediscovered ancient confuscius secret that Facebook brought me absolutely zero benefit, and just annoyance and grief. So, I quit. That and zuckerberg & co. are complete toolbag dicks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving