Georgia elk

[howl]

Elk were native to GA. Bison were, too. They're extinct now, of course.

Crops predation by 1 elk or the equivalent number of deer is the same. The total amount is limited by habitat. Well, elk may be less susceptible to predation by bear and hogs which mountain deer seem to be having a problem with.

I am surprised anyone would be against having elk available on public lands to hunt.

 

[Bear44]

Reminds me of the wolf situation out west. Its amazing what you can do if you learn to not post on bookface and/or run your mouth and keep a shovel handy.

Pretty sure it's not illegal to kill an elk in Georgia. They are considered an invasive species... I think.

 

[Bear44]

Elk were native to GA. Bison were, too. They're extinct now, of course.

Crops predation by 1 elk or the equivalent number of deer is the same. The total amount is limited by habitat. Well, elk may be less susceptible to predation by bear and hogs which mountain deer seem to be having a problem with.

I am surprised anyone would be against having elk available on public lands to hunt.

When you say "limited by habitat", do you mean the carrying capacity of the land? If that's the limiting factor it's consistently disastrous. Before the population declines from starvation and disease they devastate the habitat by eating everything, including things that have very little nutritional value. Barking a tree (eating the bark in even a small width all the way around) kills it regardless of how big it is. It typically takers decades for the area to recover.

 

[howl]

I mean suitable habitat where they can exist at all. We want to hunt them. That would keep them below carrying capacity. Still, a population in number below carrying capacity will feed on crops.

 

[Horsehat]

Auto insurance lobbies would nip this in the bud.

 

[Buckeye Mike]

Curious as to which part is the opposite of what I said?

The “abundant forage in the Appalachian mountains “ Elk don’t eat acorns. They need grazing land. Not much of that in the mountains in Georgia and what is there is being farmed.

 

[Buckeye Mike]

Pretty sure it's not illegal to kill an elk in Georgia. They are considered an invasive species... I think.

They are.

 

[Whatchagot87]

The “abundant forage in the Appalachian mountains “ Elk don’t eat acorns. They need grazing land. Not much of that in the mountains in Georgia and what is there is being farmed.

Elk are not range cattle either. And they will eat acorns. They have a diverse diet consisting of browse and forbs, as well as grasses, which are plentiful in the Appalachian Mountains as opposed to the Rocky Mountains. Evidence is showing that Eastern elk herds are also behaving differently than Western herds. They don't tend to migrate seasonally and their behavior towards forested areas is increasing. Kentucky started with 1541 elk and now believe to have over 13,000. Tennessee had 200 and now have 450+. I don't think GA DNR wants to bring them here (mostly for reasons mentioned: Farm and crop destruction, auto collisions, competition with the local wildlife, etc.), but to think they can't/won't survive and proliferate in North Georgia is probably a bad assumption. If they ever spread from neighboring states and gain a foothold, you can bet the GA DNR will pivot to find ways to $$$profit$$$ from it. Interesting discussion. Here are some selections from Kentucky DNR's elk management plan for 2015-2030:

"Elk are intermediate feeders, selecting a wide variety of forages to meet their dietary needs (Cook 2002). Elk in Kentucky consume approximately equal amounts of grasses, forbs, and browse on an annual basis, but the relative abundance of these forage types varies seasonally (Schneider et al. 2006). Elk throughout the Cumberland Plateau consume primarily grasses and browse during the spring and winter, forbs during the summer, and equal portions of grasses, forbs, and browse during the fall (Schneider et al. 2006, Lupardus et al. 2011). These findings led authors of a Tennessee dietary study to suggest that oak savannas maintained through a combination of silvicultural practices and prescribed fire could prove the ideal habitat for elk in the Cumberland Plateau (Lupardus et al. 2011). The oak savanna habitat type is largely absent from the Kentucky elk restoration zone as of 2015, but proactive management could begin transitioning portions of the landscape to this habitat type, which could provide ample food resources while maintaining cover."

"In the initial years of the elk restoration project, elk in Kentucky were highly associated with herbaceous openings that result from surface mine reclamation (Dahl 2008). Olsson et al. (2007) suggested that elk primarily used reclaimed surface mines for feeding, and used the surrounding intact timberlands for thermal and escape cover. Despite these early findings, evidence suggests that this yearlong attraction to reclaimed surface mine habitat could be shifting in some areas. GPS collar data demonstrate that some Kentucky elk have begun spending a significant portion of time in forested habitat (J. Hast, KDFWR, personal communication). This is congruent with increased KDFWR staff observations of heavy elk use in forested environments and elk hunter reports."

"Human land use within the elk restoration zone has resulted in a landscape mosaic of approximately 80% deciduous forest, 10% active and reclaimed surface mine, 9% agricultural or cleared land, and 1% urban matrix (Cox 2003)."