Good intentions do not always make good consequences. It is an old saying but unfortunately, it rings particularly true in this case.
Hoping to help wildlife, a landowner put out corn in northern Wisconsin. Instead, a young bull elk ate so much of it that it became bloated and died of rumen acidosis.
“(The landowner) thought he was doing animals a favor,” Kevin Wallenfang, DNR deer and elk ecologist, told the Herald Times Reporter. “He felt terrible after he learned what he caused.”
Originally from Kentucky and transferred to Wisconsin as part of reintroduction efforts assisted by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation funding, the elk wore a GPS collar.
The landowner did not receive a citation but pledged a donation to the state’s elk management program.
(Photo source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)