Friday, April 12, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Gearhart turns to state for elk solutions
R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
T
he attack on a 12-year-old corgi by an elk
in the herd on North Marion Avenue in
Gearhart was the topic of discussion at
the city’s April 3 City Council meeting.
“The incident is just the most recent
in a long series of interactions with these large
animals whose populations have exploded and
who have no natural predators,” Gearhart Golf
Course owner Tim Boyle wrote in an email to
Mayor Matt Brown. “The elk population is
now at the stage where injuries to humans are
inevitable.
Dog-elk encounters are becoming more fre-
quent in Gearhart.
In 2016, a pet whippet was trampled and
killed by a herd of elk at the Reserve at Gear-
hart this month. In another incident reported to
Gearhart Police, an elk kicked a dog and broke
the dog’s legs.
In 2017, an elk cow protecting its calf by the
10th Street entrance to the beach charged a bicy-
clist before the elk was tranquilized and brought
to safety by police, fi refi ghters and offi cials from
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Reports of aggressive elk were also reported
in the Gearhart communities of Surf Pines and
Pinehurst.
Drivers and pedestrians alike fi nd themselves
surrounded by the herd, pets are threatened and
their owners intimidated.
To make it safer for both animals and people,
the city adopted new rules prohibiting feeding
of wildlife in March. “This will help cut down
elk-human interactions, and prevent the elk from
getting too friendly and approaching humans
and pets,” said at the council meeting.
Along with the no-feeding rules, Gearhart
will post signage throughout the community,
City Administrator Chad Sweet said.
Seasonal “elk calving” warning signs will be
placed in busy right-of-ways and in pedestrian
traffi c areas. “Part of the job for the city is to
educate the public and visitors on elk safety,”
Sweet said.
Gearhart will join the city of Warrenton, the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ore-
gon State Police and private landowners to work
with Oregon Solutions to fi nd ways to mitigate
public health issues with the elk herd in Clatsop
County, Brown said at the meeting.
Oregon Solutions is a state organization that
helps solve complex problems within multiple
jurisdictions and agencies.
The name of their project is Clatsop Plains
Elk Collaborative and they are asking Gov. Kate
Brown to back the project and select state Mayor
Henry Balensifer of Warrenton and Mayor Jay
Barber of Seaside to co-convene the committee
meetings.
“The elk are beautiful animals and fun to look
at from a distance but can be very dangerous to
look at,” Brown said. “Please exercise caution
with your pets leashed at all times to prevent
potentially harmful situations.”
Dog recovers after
trampling by Gearhart elk
R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
“Sammy” Dreier, a 12-year-old corgi, is one lucky
dog.
He survived an encounter with an elk herd outside
his home in Gearhart.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, March 26, around
7:30 a.m., at the home of Joanne and Sam Dreier at
Ninth Street and North Cottage.
Attuned to the elk population from years of living
in Gearhart, Joanne Dreier listened for the herd before
going out. She checked all the windows, opened the
garage door and Sammy walked ahead.
Suddenly a herd of about 80 elk emerged from the
thicket.
Instead of making a turn toward the golf course, the
herd stopped and two lead females approached.
“There were several seconds where everybody was
just standing still and I was trying to keep Sammy from
going further,” she said.
While not usually responsive, the herd will eventu-
ally move away.
“But these females were intent on getting rid of this
dog,” Joanne Dreier said. “I think it was because there
were calves in this group. The two females, one of
them in particular, came forward and charged at him.”
When the dog’s short legs got caught in the tall side
grass, he leaped in the air and realized he was in big
trouble, she said.
The lead female lifted her leg and came down on
Sammy with her hoof.
‘IF I HAD NOT
GRABBED HIM, IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN
OVER FOR HIM. HAD
THEY CHARGED ME, I
DON’T KNOW WHAT I
WOULD HAVE DONE.’
Joanne Dreier, owner of the dog
‘Sammy,’ who was attacked by an elk
CAUTION
Be aware of your surroundings and avoid walking
into the middle of an elk herd.
Enjoy watching from a distance.
Keep pets on a leash at all times.
Elk are most active at dawn and dusk, but avoid human and
pet confl icts at all times, especially during September/October
(breeding season) and May/June when calves are born.
Non-native vegetation attracts elk. To move a herd off your
property, calmly approach the herd, making your presence obvious.
Avoid surprising or being aggressive towards any wildlife.
Be aware of your surroundings and avoid walking
into the middle of an elk herd.
“I was hysterical by this time and I ran over and
grabbed him,” Joanne Dreier said. “I thought his back
was broken.”
Holding the dog, she backed away, toward the
house.
“The rest of the herd, thank goodness, didn’t really
pay any attention,” she said. “Somehow they went to
the golf course.”
By this time, two golf course employees heard the
commotion and arrived on scene. “They called our vet
to tell them that we were on our way.”
Sammy was rushed to Bayshore Animal Hospital in
Warrenton, where he was sedated and treated.
“He was really lucky,” Joanne Dreier said. “If I had
not grabbed him, it would have been over for him.
Had they charged me, I don’t know what I would have
done.”
Her advice to dog owners is to keep dogs on a leash
when outside, even at home.
“We’re very grateful he wasn’t more badly injured,”
she said. “It could have been a very bad day for all of
us.”
Sam Dreier said he hopes that the incident will not
be seen as an isolated one, but part of a larger effort to
provide greater safety for residents and their pets when
confronted with the elk population.
Despite broken tibia and cracked ribs, Sammy is
“his same jaunty self,” Sam Dreier said. “From his per-
spective, he’s got a twinge of pain. But that’s going to
be gone in a couple of weeks.”
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