El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-06

giving $4,000 to the Biological survey
/ Tor rescue purposes.
During the last summer the Biological
survey made a thorough study of the
situation, and provided for the elk in
such way as to make them fairly safe,
1t Is hoped, against starving during the
| present winter. Hay has been bought
/ IN large quantities bargain being
usually struck with the person from
I whom it is purchased, under the terms
I OF which a certain amount IS hauled each
daY to the animals.
They soon learn the time of feeding,
! and come readily to meet the loads. The
/ plan commonly adopted is to drive past
I a bunch OF the animals, and. as the
( more eager of them follow, they are
/ gradually strung out" in a long line.
I Then the course is retraced. and hay is
4 thrown out in small quantities at short
I intervals. This plan insures a fair share
] OF hay TO all, both large and small.
Results of Feeding.
One result Of the feeding is that the
( elk become extremely tame. especially
/ when approached only in vehicles or on
( horseback. Such familiarity. however, IS
/ quickly lost as experience has shown
I when the free distribution of proVender
/ Is discontinued, and within a few weeks
! those which ate most readily from the
hands of their beRefactors are as wild
as ever.
What might be termed the elk dread
/ line" IS nevertheless by no means
/ temporary affair. 1t must be continU-
OuslY maintained from this time on, dur
ING the winters. if the animals are to be
saved. With this idea in view, the
Biological survey. in cooperation with
the state authorities of Wyoming, has
already made arrangements for the main
tenanee Of the great herd of Jackson Hole
its preservation being. of Importance
not merely from a natural history point
Of view, OF for reasons of sentiment, but
because 1t represents a large economic
value. Tt is, in fact, a productive re-
source and a permanent source of income
to the state.
It is estimated that the value of the
elk to the region of Jackson Hole Is
equal to the revenue derived from stock
raising in that district. The amount of
money which the animals bring into the
country Is very large. Many hunting
parties are attracted thither every year,
being allowed to kill a limited number
of elk under certain restrictions. Hunt
ers are obliged to hire guides, packers,
cooks and pack animals. and to buy
considerable quantities of food supplies.
The average daily expense Of a person
hunting in that region IS at least S14.
resident 1920, all of which Is spent in
the vicinity of the hunting grounds.
Yearly Slaughter
About 1000 elk are killed each year by
hunters. There is considerable poach- /
ing, /. E., illegal killing of the animals,
bv men who frequent and even reside in /
the Jackson Hole region, for the sake of
making their living wholly OF in part
from the game. These lawbreakeTs re- 4
gard the elk as their natural prey. But 1
lowest in the scale of all the enemies OF |
the elk is the tooth hunter-the human
brute who. for the sake of gaining q I
dollar or two. kills the noble creatures. ]
and, taking only their tusks. leaves the !
carcasses to rot. Under cover of the I
mail he forwards his BOOTY undecided. 1
to dealers in the cities, who dispose of |
it to thOughtless purchasers.
From 10000 to $4,000 elk habitUally (
range IN the southern part of the yell !
loWtOne park. and most of them spend !
the winter IN a region to the south, ]
commonly called jackson Hole. and I
which Is part of the valley of Snake /
river. in northwestern Wyoming. Spend (
ing the summer in the mountains. the /
animals are forced by cold weather to /
seek lower levels. where a li~hter snow I
fall and a miIder climate insure more
favorable forage conditions. Their prim /
tive winter range has gradually been /
reduced bv the entertainments of civiliza-
ton until the basin in question has be-
come their principal stronghold Here
until recent years they have Jared well,
except in an occasional abnormal winter;
but with increased settlement in the val
lev has come depletion of the range by
grazing. The elk have come down in
their old. or even augmented numbers.
only to find their former haunts shorn
of forage by cattle and sheep. and great
suffering and loss of life have. resulted.
Pumas Are Extinct
One of the most destructive natural
enemies of the elk was formerly the
puma. or mountain lion 1t no longer
cuts a figure in the problem, however,
having been practically eNterminated bv
hunters in the Jackson Hole region On