From Pennsylvania Afield, Altoona [PA] Mirror, 30 April 1995
Survey shows state’s elk herd slowly growing, expanding its range into Clearfield County
Pennsylvania’s elk herd continues to show a trend towards population growth and range expansion, according to a survey conducted in early February.
Rawley Cogan, a Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife biologist, has projected the elk population at 254 animals. That figure represents the highest number of elk in Pennsylvania any time this century.
The annual population surveys are a cooperative effort by the Game Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources Bureau of Parks and Forestry and the state Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation. The survey is carried out using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The operation is based at the Stackpole Corp. Hangar at St. Marys Airport in Elk County.
Just 20 years ago the state’s elk herd, found in Elk and Cameron counties, numbered as few as 38 animals. The population climbed to 100 elk in 1979 and has shown steady growth since 1988. The most recent survey showing 254 elk is an increase of 30 animals in the past year. The breakdown of the herd by sex and age class is 46 branch-antlered bulls, 26 spike bulls, 143 cows and 39 calves.
“We know that the count of 143 cows includes a number of calves,” said Cogan. “We experienced some pretty rough weather conditions on the two days the survey was flown. It’s fairly easy to incorrectly identify a calf as a cow when aircraft can’t fly at very low altitudes. We know from research we’re getting 60-65 percent calf recruitment into the population on an annual basis.”
Cogan says, over the past year, 18 elk died from various causes. Four females were killed illegally. Three animals, one male and two females, died of accidental causes. Three spike bulls were lost to brainworm. Two cows died giving birth. On spike bull was shot for crop damage and one cow was hit by a train. One newborn female calf drowned in the Bennett Branch along Route 555. One newborn female died of an internal infection, and two young calves died of unknown causes.
The Game Commission’s elk management plan is designed to maintain a self-sustaining herd on state game and forest lands. The goal is to minimize impacts on private properties. Deterrent fencing is used where possible to reduce conflicts in agricultural areas. Considerable habitat improvement on public lands has been carried out south and east of St. Marys in an effort to move elk away from agricultural areas.
“We’ve seen continued expansion of the primary elk range in the past few years,” said Cogan. “For a number of years the primary range included about 225 square miles. The survey indicated elk were evenly distributed throughout the range,” Cogan continued. “We’ve now documented a number of elk wintering in the Quehanna Wild Area. Redefinition of the primary range has elk in areas they hadn’t occupied for 40 or 50 years. The movement into the Quehanna area includes a few animals in Clearfield County. Those elk moved from the Mason Hill and Houston Hill areas of Cameron and Elk counties.”
Elk currently roaming Pennsylvania’s northcentral mountains are descendants of 24 released in Cameron County in 1915 and 10 released in Elk County between 1924 and 1926.
