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
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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
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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
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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
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and got closer and she feared
she had nowhere to hide. The
police, she wrote, told her she
should not have been in the
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“Fortunately by now I had
found some type of marker in
the ground which was metal
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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.
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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
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someone being charged by an
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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casings on the Port of Asto- DQG RQH \HDU LQ
ria’s East End Mooring Basin prison. Civil penalties of up to
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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.
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“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,
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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
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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
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