The killing of elk in a national park spotlighted concerns about animals in that area as well as the difficulty of reintroduction efforts.
What's happening?
On July 21, four Roosevelt elk were fatally shot in Redwood National Park, where federal and California state laws ban hunting. The National Park Service said they were hit with lead shot, which can poison carrion and result in health problems and even death to scavengers.
The elk, named after former President Theodore Roosevelt, are the largest in North America. They used to roam the California coast from north of the present-day Bay Area, but their territory has been cut to just a few counties in a northwest corner of the state.
There were once 10 million elk on the continent, but their population was reduced to 100,000 by 1907 because of westward settlement and agriculture. Now, they are threatened by logging and road construction, per the NPS.
Park service officials said no meat was taken from the animals.
"Lead poisoning from ingestion of lead ammunition is the single largest threat to free-flying California condors," they noted.
The vultures, North America's largest land bird with a wingspan of 9-plus feet, were reintroduced to the region just two years ago by the Yurok Tribe, Redwood National and State Parks, and other agencies. They too are endangered by poaching.
Why is this important?
While the elk killings are worrisome, any threat to California condors will become a top priority since the species is coming back from the brink of extinction.
The condors are sacred to the Yurok and other Indigenous cultures and have been the focus of a decadeslong restoration program that the Yurok said "seeks to return the condor to the integral role it plays in healthy ecosystems and, in doing so, to renew and strengthen the spiritual lifeways of the many tribes who revere this majestic species."
The birds were listed as endangered in 1967, and only 23 lived in the wild as of 1982. They had for thousands of years flown the western skies from Canada to Mexico. "By 1987, all remaining wild condors were placed into a captive breeding program in an effort to save the species from extinction," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
What's being done about lead ammunition and poaching?
Lead ammunition was banned in California to protect condors and other animals that are also under threat from various other human-caused problems. This one change can make a big difference, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said, because "our pathologists have shown that lead poisoning is the only significant cause of mortality for adult condors."
Conservation education initiatives and rewards programs can help stop poaching. Anyone with information about the elk killings is asked to contact park officials or the park's anonymous crime tip line.
"Tourists from all over the world and Californians alike enjoy the opportunity to see Roosevelt elk within their historical home range at Redwood National and State Parks," the NPS stated. "Park rangers are committed to protecting these amazing animals and urge the public to help them in this effort."
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