The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) is seeking information regarding the death of a bull elk found in McCreary County as of Jan. 22. The department believes the elk was poached.
A Jan. 14 news release stated the investigation began on Jan. 13, when a department worker found the carcass near a trail in the Beaver Creek Wildlife Management Area. The release promised a $2,500 reward for information that leads to a conviction.
“The 3×3 bull elk was known to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife biologists,” the news release said. “It was among more than 40 elk translocated to McCreary County last winter from other counties within the elk zone to establish the species where the population had not yet been established.”
Elk hunting is illegal in McCreary County.
McCreary County is one of 16 counties designated as Kentucky’s “elk zone,” where the state has been relocating elk to reintroduce the species since December 1997. McCreary was not originally a part of the elk zone but was added in 2004. Today, the area encompasses 4.3 million acres, according to the KDFWR website.
Between 1997 and 2002, 1,561 elk were disease-tested and safely relocated to the site, according to KDFWR. Since then, the area has continued to receive donor elk herds from Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah.
“Now that we have a sustainable population, we have had the opportunity to help others restore elk in their states,” the website says regarding restoration efforts. “Couple that with the fact that CWD has not been detected in Kentucky, we are the logical source population for restoration efforts east of the Mississippi River.
Anyone seeking contact with KDFWR can call 1-800-25-ALERT or the State Police Post 11 in London, Kentucky. For anonymous tips, individuals can text “KFWLAW” with a message to 847411 or submit them through the KFWLAW app.
