Nineteen elk lay dead Friday on the McNeel Elk Feedground near Bondurant. Wolves killed 17 calves and two cows in what is called a "surplus killing," where predators kill more prey than can be eaten.
Nineteen elk were found dead Thursday on the McNeel Elk Feedground near Bondurant. A Wednesday night "surplus killing" left 17 calves and two cows scattered on the feedground. Wyoming Game & Fish Department gathered the carcasses and plan to test them for disease to determine whether they may have been targeted by the pack because of an illness or weakness.
Nineteen elk lay dead Friday on the McNeel Elk Feedground near Bondurant. Wolves killed 17 calves and two cows in what is called a "surplus killing," where predators kill more prey than can be eaten.
Nineteen elk were found dead Thursday on the McNeel Elk Feedground near Bondurant. A Wednesday night "surplus killing" left 17 calves and two cows scattered on the feedground. Wyoming Game & Fish Department gathered the carcasses and plan to test them for disease to determine whether they may have been targeted by the pack because of an illness or weakness.
An unusual case of wolf “surplus killing” was on display this week in the Hoback River Basin, where a pack of wolves got into elk on a feedground and left behind 19 mostly uneaten carcasses.
The incident happened in the late-night hours leading into Wednesday on the McNeel Feedground, located on private land south of Bondurant. A feedground operator that morning discovered “several” dead elk, but when Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel arrived they found many more, Pinedale regional wildlife supervisor John Lund said.
