Caribou Gear Tarp

Have Elk, Will Travel!

windymtnman

windymtnman

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Yesterday, I went for a hike West of our ranch in South Central Colorado. We're about 65 straight line miles North of the New Mexico Stateline. As I often do, I carry a bag, as I frequently pick up whatever litter I find. So, when I saw something white laying under a tree, I went over to get it. I was more than a little surprised to see it was an old radio collar off an Elk. The collar was broken from being abraided, not cut off. It was in weathered, old condition, like it had been laying there quite awhile. I couldn't even read the text under the plexiglass battery until I got it home and cleaned up.
I was pretty surprised to see this collar came from New Mexico. I called the phone number given on the collar, however it's not even a working number anymore. I began googling up various internet searches, and the only hits I got were from posts back in 2007. The serial number is 770, so I'm wondering now if the "7" might stand for a 2007 research project? I sent New Mexico Game & Fish an email and some pics of the collar, so I'll await their response, if any.
There is a whole lot of rough country between where I found this collar and the Stateline. It gives one a renewed appreciation of just how tough and mobile Elk are. Anyway, it was a great find for a day out.
 
Very cool find. Also, being that close, this probably isn't news, but remember that NM switched a good part of the state from '505' to '575' area code in 2007.
 
Did you all ever hear the story about the spike bull that was radio collared up in North Central Montana not far from the Canadian border several years ago. He went on a walk-about and after something like three years he ended up in Nebraska. He was twice hit by cars on the highway. There is a Park down there where he finally roosted.
 
Since my having posted this, I did discover that the area code for Las Cruces had changed to 575 from 505 that was on the radio collar. In contacting the corrected number, I found out I was talking to the right people, but the two main researchers that have been doing this kind of work, weren't the ones that had put the collar on that I'd found. I was handed off to a 3rd person that said he's pretty sure he knows who did the research on the collar I'd found, however it was so long ago, he doesn't know if that person has the data available anymore.
He said that project was studying Elk movements N.W. of Taos, N.M. near Antonito Mountain. That being the case, this Elk travelled a minimum of 70-80 miles, straight line travel, over some steep, high, rough country.
The Elk that carried that collar is long gone, but in leaving it's collar behind for me to find, will think of him often when I gaze on the collar hanging in my workshop. They are incredible animals.
 
On Nov. 3rd, I finally heard from the research guy that tagged the Elk whose collar I found. He told me this Elk study was way back in 1999! Based on the serial number on the collar, the Elk was a Bull, and one of 110 Elk netted via Helicopter down in the area of San Antonio Mt. which is a straight line distance of 70+ miles from here. He said the research indicated that 20% of the collared Elk went back to Colorado and 80% stayed in New Mexico. I was told that two Elk came up in this area, and in the 5 years the radio signal kept working, the Elk stayed around this immediate area. Up until my finding this collar a few weeks ago, the last time he previously heard from anyone on this study was back in 2008, when a hunter shot a collared Cow, and called his info into them.
So, I was pretty amazed that in the two Elk that made this area home, I found one of their collars. In that the collar was rubbed & and broken off, the Bull lived on for awhile after he lost the collar that probably bugged him for many years. The researcher thought it was pretty cool I found it too.
 
Cool find! I found a radio collar on an elk skeleton in Rocky Mountain National Park once. We took it to a park ranger, who just chucked it in the back of his truck and didn't even say 'thanks'. I should have kept it and followed up myself, I love that kind of stuff...
 
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