Elk NetworkWATCH: Elk Takes Utah Biologist for a Ride

General | May 21, 2020

Below is a Facebook post from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Ever wondered what it’d be like to ride an elk? One of our biologists could tell you how it goes! Watch here until the end.

We’ve been collaring elk on the Southwest Desert (SWD) unit since 2016 to monitor elk habitat use and the population exchange of elk between Utah’s SWD unit and Nevada’s Unit 23. Over the life of the study, we have collared 96 elk — mostly adult cows. Currently, we have about 60 collared elk still on-line. We’ve seen some seasonal movement of elk between Utah and Nevada. Between 15 and 20% of those elk we collared in Utah spend at least some time in Nevada. The elk that go to Nevada seem to do so in the late spring, and then return prior to winter. GPS collar technology is a great management tool for our agency.

(Photo source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)