Originally Posted by
dapesche
Some Info that may be of interest:
Q:
Hearing some people talk about region 4s populations being way lower than anticipated.
Is the population really down to approx 6000.
How did that happen? Some mentioned that the estimate was 15-20k.
Hoping for some clarity.
Thank you.
A:
Hi, the elk survey we completed this winter is for the East Kootenay Trench (MUs 4-02 to 4-04, 4-20 to 4-22, 4-24 to 4-26) and the estimate is going to be about 6800 elk. The previous estimate in 2008 was 14,000 elk but this was more than the habitat could support so populations were reduced from 2009-2013. Cow harvest is minimal now and we had pretty high calf ratios on the survey so I suspect the population is going to rebound.
Q:So we can expect the cow elk leh to be downsized/removed.
A:Yes, I think people underestimate the impact of cats on our ungulate population and it seems like there’s no shortage of them.
I have been encouraging hunters to increase the female cougar harvest. Same thing for bears, especially when it comes to impacts on neonate calves and fawns.