Elk NetworkBiologists Conduct Large Elk Capture in Desert Southwest

General | May 21, 2020

It is a total team effort. And the goal is to learn more about elk.

According to New Mexico Wildlife, members of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Arizona Game and Fish Department and the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and the Wildlife Research Unit at New Mexico State University recently took to the skies to capture elk over a wide area ranging from west-central New Mexico to east-central Arizona.

Crews operating out of a helicopter used net guns to capture cow and calf elk. The long-term study allows biologists to monitor elk across the Gila region in order to learn more about their movement, behavior, habitat use, interaction with predators and other information.

The data will assist wildlife managers in making future decision to benefit elk in the area.

(Photo source: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish/Martin Perea)