LOCAL

The elk herd returns to Ruidoso

Elk herd is reforming after cows seek seclusion to have their calves

Dianne L Stallings
Ruidoso News
  • Upper Canyon residents also report elk sighting

Drive slowly and stay alert, the elk are back.

Last winter, most of the large herd that frequents the White Mountain Sports field, Hull Road and Moon Mountain seemed to disappear. During previous winters, they often continued to hang around even during snow storms. When spring returned and rain was ample, many locals were worried, because they still didn’t see the herd.

The bull elk rests with his harem of cows.

 

But a spokesman for the New Mexico Game and Fish said the elk were just being elk.

“They are migratory animals,” he said. “And then in the spring, around May, the cows separate from the herd to have their calves in a secluded area where they feel comfortable, typically in the higher country sometime in June.

“They’ll start moving back down and congregating into nursing herds. (About this time of the year) they are reforming the herd and moving back into town.”

The elk herd beds down for an afternoon nap on Moon Mountain.
A female elk stands watch.

 

A data sheet on elk in New Mexico published by Game and Fish noted that North American elk are closely related to the red deer of Europe.

“Nearly the largest member of the deer family, the elk is far more graceful than the bigger moose. Crowned by heavy, sweeping antlers, elk racks are cherished decorations from the castles of Europe to the cabins of Le Cueva, New Mexico,” the pamphlet states.

Rocky Mountain elk are in New Mexico because the state and private individuals persisted between 1910 and 1966, until the animals were restored.

“Although a private ranch started the reintroduction, Territorial Game Warden Thomas Gable made the first public releases in 1911, distributing 12 animals to three spots in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains,” the pamphlet stated. Reintroduction was necessary because of relentless hunting pressure late in the 19th Century. That pressure to feed the waves of soldiers, miners and ranchers who helped settle the state wiped out the Merriam’s subspecies of elk. But today, Rocky Mountain elk are abundant in norther New Mexico and the mountains and valleys of the southern half of the state where Merriams previously roamed.

An elk cow trims a poplar tree next to a house.

 

Breeding usually occurs in September. Bull elks announce the oncoming rut by bugling. Deepening snow often forces elk to migrate to lower elevations for food. Calves weigh about 30 pounds to 40 pounds and are camouflaged by white-spotted coats until August. They have no scent and often lie perfectly still near fallen logs or in tall grass while their mothers forage.

Grass is the preferred food of elk, but they can thrive n forbs and woody browse. Cover is as essential as food, water and space.

“The mountains of New Mexico, dark cool forests with interspersed large and small meadows,” satisfy most of the elk’s major requirements, the pamphlet stated.

A cow elk munches the branches of a poplar tree.

 

While elk hunting remains popular in the state, elk viewing is a big draw for tourists as well as locals in the Ruidoso area. The community has lived with herds of mule deer for decades. Most drivers know to slow down in certain areas and at dusk. Slower speed is necessary not just to avoid the elk, deer and occasional bear, but also to prevent rear-ending vehicles stopped on roads with people hanging out of the windows snapping photographs of the wildlife.