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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 Elk: ‘The elk just kind of had it, and it took off after her’ Continued from Page 1A Maine said he saw a wom- an, with her dog in tow, get up close to a mother and calf to take a photo with her cellphone. “This woman had come up over the dunes,” he said. “She JRW DERXW IHHW DZD\ 7KHQ the elk just kind of had it, and it took off after her.” Wildlife biologist Dave Nu- zum with the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife said the reaction to humans varies from cow to cow. “What seems to set them off around people is if there’s a dog,” he said. Elk do not usually see hu- mans as predators, Nuzum ex- plained, but dogs can resemble coyotes. He recommends leav- ing dogs behind or on leashes in any area with lots of elk or calves, along with keeping a long distance from elk. No warning Hayley Rogers of Gearhart conveyed in a Facebook post Monday her displeasure at a lack of warning signs about elk near public beaches. Rogers wrote she was hik- ing the Birdy Beach Trail near the mouth of the Necanicum River Monday when she saw a ODUJHHONDERXW\DUGVDZD\ +DYLQJOLYHGLQWKHDUHDIRU years, Rogers added, she knew not to get close. “As I went over the hill I heard the loud galloping of hooves along with crunching grass,” Rogers wrote. “I turned WR VHH D SRXQG HON D YHU\ ODUJH IHPDOH , EHOLHYH coming at me full throttle.” Rather than run, she chose to stand her ground: “So I stood my ground and found myself yelling, ‘Bad elk, No!’ at the top of my lungs.” Rogers wrote she ended up FDOOLQJ DV WKH HON VORZHG and got closer and she feared she had nowhere to hide. The police, she wrote, told her she should not have been in the HON¶VKDELWDWLQWKH¿UVWSODFH “Fortunately by now I had found some type of marker in the ground which was metal DQG DERXW IHHW ORQJ ZLWK D ÀDJRQWKHHQGRILW´VKHZURWH ³7KHHONZDVQRZIHHWRU so away and I was swinging Photo courtesy of Neal Maine Wildlife photographer Neal Maine said he spotted a woman and her dog get too close to an elk cow, which then charged. People are advised to stay well clear of cows and calves, especially during calving season from late May through early June. Photo courtesy of Neal Maine During calving season from late May to early June, elk cows will leave the herd hours to days before giving birth. For up to three weeks after birth, they will hide their calves in grasslands, shrublands and forests. this marker violently at the elk. 7KLVZDVWKH¿UVWWLPHWKHHON actually stopped. “I was done being scared and more angry at the police department for telling me I shouldn’t be on a trail that had been publicized by the commu- nity paper, which I’ve ran on for years.” Gearhart City Administra- tor Chad Sweet said this is the ¿UVW LQVWDQFH KH KDV KHDUG RI someone being charged by an HONLQKLV\HDUVOLYLQJLQWKH area. While there are no plans to put up signs at public beach approaches pointing out calv- ing season, Sweet said the Fish and Wildlife Department is working on informative signs on interactions between people and animals. He add- ed Gearhart is looking at cut- ting down some trees near the EHDFKGXQHVWRORZHU¿UHULVN and prevent habitation by elk or transients. Gearhart Police Chief Jeff Bowman said he focuses on the human half of the equation, shooing people away when they stop on the side of U.S. +LJKZD\ DQG WU\ WR JHW close to the elk for cellphone photos. “This Gearhart herd, they don’t run off because you’re out there mowing your lawn,” Bowman said, adding if peo- ple pretend not to notice near- by elk, the animals usually go about their way. Bowman, Sweet and Maine all lamented the trend of people trying to get closer to elk for photos. “I guess when someone gets stomped, there will be more heightened awareness,” Bow- man said. Calving season According to the U.S. For- est Service, migrating elk herds with pregnant cows halt tempo- rarily in late May to early June for calving season. Cows will leave the herd hours to days before giving birth. Calves are secluded up to three weeks with their mothers in a calving area, which can be grasslands, shrub- lands and forests. “There’s a patch of forest in the Del Rey Beach area where we’ve seen calves being born in the last three years,” Maine said. Nuzum said there is very little of South County that is not elk habitat, estimating more than 5,000 animals in the Sad- dle Mountain wildlife manage- ment unit. Elk calves curl up and lay in grass or other covered areas as part of their survival strategy, he said, and if someone were to come across one by accident, he advised it is best to get out of the area. Relay for Life Fundraiser CMH Car Show Come to the 2015 CMH Car Show Columbia Memorial Hospital’s Relay for Life team welcomes you to join us for the first annual CMH Car Show to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Join us on Goonies Weekend for classic cars and a good cause! Photo courtesy of Veronica Montoya The Sea Lion Defense Brigade reported finding 11 shell casings from a .44-caliber weap- on May 18 at the Port of Astoria’s East End Mooring Basin. The group reported finding 19 shell casings in early April, as well. Sea lions:,W¶VDGLI¿FXOWFDVH because of the number of reports Continued from Page 1A ORQJVWDQGLQJFRQÀLFWEHWZHHQ recreational and commercial Thursday, The Humane Soci- ¿VKHUPHQDQGVHDOLRQV ety offered a $5,000 reward “I’m trying to develop for information leading to the additional leads right now,” LGHQWL¿FDWLRQDUUHVWDQGFRQ- Hellberg said. “I’ve exhausted viction of anyone responsible many leads already.” for the shootings. 6LQFH VHD OLRQV DQG harbor seals have been cov- Shell casings ered by the federal Marine On April 6, members of Mammal Protection Act. the Sea Lion Defense Brigade Shooting them is punishable UHSRUWHG ¿QGLQJ EXOOHW by criminal penalties up to casings on the Port of Asto- DQG RQH \HDU LQ ria’s East End Mooring Basin prison. Civil penalties of up to FDXVHZD\ 2Q 0D\ WKH\ FDQ DOVR EH DVVHVVHG UHSRUWHG¿QGLQJPRUHVKHOO for each violation of the act. casings at the basin. Hell- The Humane Society berg said more were found and Hellberg are directing near Buoy Beer Co. on Ninth anyone with information Street. concerning the shootings to He said the local wildlife call NOAA’s Office of Law stranding networks have been Enforcement in Astoria at doing necropsies on the ani- RUWKH12$$ mals. (QIRUFHPHQW+RWOLQHDW “We’ve been watching this &DOOHUV PD\ UH- and trying to investigate this main anonymous. as we can,” he said, adding it LV D GLI¿FXOW FDVH EHFDXVH RI Why sea lions are here The NOAA Northwest the number of reports and the Fisheries Science Center recently reported on the in- crease of sea lions in the Co- lumbia River and starvation in California. Male sea lions, NOAA said, seek out high-energy, RLO\ ¿VK VXFK DV KHUULQJ DQG sardines. In recent years, they’ve come in increasing numbers to the mouth of the Columbia River to feed on strong runs of smelt, taking up residence on docks and jetties near Astoria. Their numbers locally can range from a few hundred to PRUH WKDQ GHSHQGLQJ RQWKH¿VKUXQV$VWKHVPHOW run dissipates and male sea lions migrate to rookeries in Southern California, there are fewer in the river. A die-off of sardines, a traditional food source of sea lions in California, coincides with large recent die-offs and strandings of sea lions along the California coastline, NOAA reported. Who: Car Lovers What: CMH Car Show and Fundraisier When: June 6, 2015, 10am-4pm Where: Columbia Memorial Hospital, westside parking lot (near the helipad) Cost: No cost for visitors, $30/vehicle Contact: Ivan Sultan, CMH Relay for Life Team Captain at 503-338-4005 or ivan_sultan@columbiamemorial.org Register your vehicle PARTICIPANT: Name(s) Phone Address City State Zip *S\I;LHT(MÄSPH[PVU VEHICLE: Year Make Model Please complete this form and mail it with the entrance fee to the address below. Entrance Fee: $30/vehicle OR Relay team participant (Make checks payable to American Cancer Society/Relay for Life) Mail To: Columbia Memorial Hospital Attn: Ivan Sultan 2111 Exchange St. Astoria, OR 97103 &YDIBOHF4U"TUPSJB0SFHPOt XXXDPMVNCJBNFNPSJBMPSHt"1MBOFUSFF%FTJHOBUFE)PTQJUBM