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A Tragic Tale:

A Tragic Tale:

 

The Struggle of Tule Elk in the Point Reyes National Seashore

In Defense of Animals is part of a coalition to fight for the Tule elks’ right to have the freedom to roam safely and also to save their lives from ranchers’ demands for their elimination or deaths within Point Reyes National Seashore in California, the only national park that these native ungulates call home. See our official letter sent in 2014 here.

Does the public care about Tule elk? Yes. Who does the National Park Service cater to? Ranchers. Who dies? Tule elk!

Tule elk_females and one male_side_NPS (3)Recently acquired data from the National Park Service in Point Reyes National Seashore shows that more than 250 native Tule elk have died between 2012 and 2014 likely due to fences that prevented them from having access to water and food.

The Tule elk herd’s number at Pierce Point in the north of the Point Reyes peninsula in western Marin County, has decreased from 540 elk in the autumn of 2012 to 286 animals in 2014, a drop of 47 percent!  All elk and other wildlife are being hit hard by the ongoing drought in California, however, the elk-proof fence established at the demand of Point Reyes dairy ranchers is likely responsible for keeping elk away from sources of fresh water, and the animals have been dying of thirst as a result.

There are no natural year-round fresh water sources on Pierce Point and the elk in the preserve are prevented from migrating by a large, elk-proof fence. During the same drought period, the free-roaming Point Reyes elk herds—all of whom had access to water —increased by 32 percent, while the Limantour herd increased from 94 to 120 elk and the Drakes Beach herd from 66 to 92 elk. For more info on how the NPS caters to ranchers’ interests rather than native Tule elk, see the Center for Biological Diversity’s brochure here.

The appalling revelations about Tule elk come at a time when the NPS considers the comprehensive ranch management plan (CRMP) which involves either killing elk or fencing in some of the free-roaming elk herds, while extending park cattle grazing leases for ranchers inside the seashore for up to 20 years and possibly allowing ranchers to expand their operations to animals other than cattle, which would create even more conflicts between livestock and native wildlife. Read more here.

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