February 7, 2008
Bulls from Six States in 2008 Great Elk Tour
MISSOULA, Mont.—Giant bull elk from California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming are featured in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s 2008 Great Elk Tour.
The traveling taxidermy exhibit is scheduled to appear in a number of sports shows and events throughout 2008.
For schedules and information, plus photos of the bulls, visit www.greatelktour.org.
“This is the first-ever tour for these particular bulls and spectators are in for real treat. Whether you’re an avid hunter or just a casual student of natural history, this is an inspiring collection that celebrates elk and habitat conservation,” said David Allen, president and CEO of the Elk Foundation.
Great Elk Tour sponsors for 2008 include the Elk Foundation, Hunter’s Specialties, Brunton, Knight Rifles and Realtree.
The tour features these six specimens:
1. California—world record Tule elk. Outscoring the old record by 14 inches, this awesome bull was found dead in 2005 on a private ranch in the Mendocino National Forest in northern California. Biologists aged the bull at 6 years and scored it at 379.
2. Idaho—non-typical antlers. Kevin Calaway watched this bull for three years before drawing a tag to hunt it in 1997. When he finally found the bull, he watched it spar for 10 minutes with another giant. The bull was taken in Jefferson County. It scores 385.
3. Montana—non-typical antlers. This bull, scoring 429 1/8, was a Montana state record when taken in 1971 on public land in Granite County. Taken by John Luthje, the mount was donated to the Elk Foundation from the Luthje estate.
4. North Dakota—typical antlers. This is the largest bull ever taken in North Dakota by a woman. Shanon Erbele hunted for three weeks before seeing her first elk—this bull scoring 368 1/8. Eberle’s bull was taken in Golden Valley County.
5. Utah—non-typical sheds. Gary Red, a longtime shed hunter in Utah, in 2004 found this magnificent set of sheds scoring 432. These are largest sheds ever found by Red, and thought to be the largest sheds ever found in Utah.
6. Wyoming—typical sheds. This impressive set of sheds scoring 404 (spread estimated) was found in spring 2007 in Park County. Shane Roemmich found the first antler, then spent six days before locating the second antler three-fourths of a mile away.