Catch & release elk hunting

Dogfish · 04-18-2003, 07:21 PM

I had the funnest day, out in the woods, in my life. I don't know if it gets any better than this. I have been an AHE hunter for the past 5 years, and it has given me opportunities that most would jump at, but few will ever experience, and this was certainly one of them.

Every five years the WDFW requires AHE graduates to complete another 12 hours of projects, so I called the Bios at region 6 to see what projects they had available. I got in touch with a bio who is a family friend, Max, and he said there was an upcoming elk project. We would be darting elk, taking some readings like temp, blood samples, and then applying radio collars to a number of cows, and maybe some bulls. I said "count me in".

Our goal for today was to dart and collar 7 cows, and if we had a chance, dart a few bulls. We successfully achieved our goals.

Lets start off with a few of the tools. The most important tool we had was this.

A Bell Jet Ranger III. The pilot was great, and put on an awesome show for us as we waited our turn to process the elk. He would fly over head, at about 200 feet or so, scanning the clearcuts for elk. Once the dart team located some �subjects�, he would drop down for the sh-ooter to make a shot, then head back up to steer the darted �subject� away from the jack firs and deep timber by corralling them into the open.

These are a few shots some of the other tools we used.

These are the two 32 gauge, yes, 32 gauge rifles the sh-ooters used.

Here are some of the pre-loaded darts, and assorted gear.

This is a shot of cow#5 with a dart still attached.

For some of the elk, we had a special �pill�. The next time you think ibuprofen are hard to swallow, remember this.

This is a �pill� being �swallowed� with assistance. The pill is actually placed in the rumen so the elk can�t regurgitate it.

I had a chance to be in on three separate elk processings. We took the temperature (you don�t want to know where), usually about 100.8 degrees F, measured the girth of the animal around the chest (this cow was the biggest at 171cm), collected a sample of blood and stool, checked cows for pregnancy, administered shots of antibiotics and vitamin B to combat the stress of the darting process, placed a radio collar on them, and a few other things. We had two researchers with us who had this ultrasound device loaded into a full size backpack. They used it to measure the fat content and overall condition of the elk.

Continued next post...

Dogfish · 04-18-2003, 07:25 PM

Here is a shot of a group we took cow #7 and bull #3 from.

Most of the larger bulls had dropped their horns, with some starting to show some growth. The spikes still had their horns on. The previous day one spike was darted, but in the process dropped both horns between the dart and release.

We used two different drugs to revive the elk, actually, those with proper training did.

Within about 30 to 60 seconds, the elk would "become VERY alert", realizing that they now had control of their bodies, and jump up with little warning.

Within a few steps, they had regained their footing and stood there wondering, "Hey, why the anal probe?!?!?"

The cow in the first post decided to wake up before we gave her the reversal, probably due to her "Boone & Crocket"

size, but we were able to bring her back down to the ground safely, and she went on her merry way.

Here is a few shot of one of our other patients for the day.

For those who remember, it was like being a walk on cast member for Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Unfortunately, or not :grin: , while Marlin was safely observing the process from the helicopter, I played the part of Jim wrestling the elk down in the reprod.

For those who have thought about joining the AHE program, this is what you are missing. The teamwork and professionalism exhibited by the WDFW staff and volunteers was amazing to watch. We even had a few enforcement officers who helped out with various stages of the project. I had a great opportunity to bend the ear of a WDFW Bio for most of the day, learnig lots about the elk I hunt, the season setting process, and many other things that if I told you, I'd have to hunt you down and ............ well, you know.

I don't have to do another project for another five years, but I can tell you that I will be involved in future "elk rodeos" in the near future. It is a huge amount of work, with the adrenaline hits like a regular elk hunt, but you get to do it many times in one day.

One final note, there was no mortality from today's operation, and all elk were immediately released after revival. There was no transporting involved.

Andy

bri24 · 04-18-2003, 07:54 PM

Nice post, I like the picture's also. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

24 on/ 48 off · 04-18-2003, 08:00 PM

GREAT pics and presentation. Thanks for your hard work and dedication!

--spud-- :smile:

Gun Rod Bow · 04-18-2003, 09:48 PM

Cool,

I really enjoyed that.

Tilla · 04-18-2003, 10:10 PM

Interesting and educational, I'm glad you took the time to present this. Thank You.

Firedog · 04-19-2003, 05:30 AM

That is a great day. Keep up the good work Dogfish. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Small Fry · 04-19-2003, 08:10 AM

Thanks for sharing. So what area was this in. Is this a check up on a transplanted group?

Illusions · 04-19-2003, 02:30 PM

what a great day!!! thanks for sharing!!

just curious, what is AHE?

Dogfish · 04-19-2003, 03:13 PM

The project took place on the Olympic Peninsula near Lake Wynoochee.

AHE is Advanced Hunter Eductaion. There are a number of requirements that you need to pass, like a written test on many subjects related to hunting and the outdoors, marksmanship test, and twelve hours of wildlife related volunteer projects. The written test was based on about 500 pages of reading when I took it 5 years ago.

There are a few benefits of getting the certification. First, you have an opportunity to learn more about wildlife, and the effect we have on it. Second, in Washington there are special permits for elk and deer, and late season goose hunts that only folks with an AHE card can apply for.

Andy

Grantspastor · 04-19-2003, 06:49 PM

Really Cool

Snapset · 04-19-2003, 09:55 PM

Best post I have read in a long time, Dogfish. If there were articles that well done in the outdoors section of the Oregonian, I would probably subscribe to it again.

RogueFishr · 04-21-2003, 03:05 PM

what a great program to be a part of. Excellent post.

RF

Pan Fry · 04-21-2003, 08:02 PM

All I can say is...... Wow !
That is awesome opportunity.

StinkyFish · 04-21-2003, 09:04 PM

Thank You very much

Radke · 04-22-2003, 06:20 AM

Wow! that looked like a great adventure. AHE, is that something only in Washinton, and do you know if it is similar to the master hunter program in Oregon? I've considered signing up for the master hunter program over here, would love to hear from others who have gone through the program and what their thoughts are.

redfish89 · 04-22-2003, 09:54 AM

Great Post.........

Norm · 04-22-2003, 10:27 AM

Thats really cool, I'm jelous.

Drakeblake · 04-22-2003, 10:54 AM

Way cool man. I got to go with my uncle in Lagrande and tag a bear for the dfw. We used the dogs to tree the bear and then set up a net 10ft off the ground and shot the bear with the tranquilizer gun and dropped the bear into the net. It was one of the greatest experiences ever. That was when I was 13 and now I'm majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU so you can say the experience had a lasting impression on me. Thanks for the story and the pics Dogfish.

-blake