Elk calf adventure makes for unforgettable field day
By Carol Mulvihill Outdoor Writer

Above, PGC Wildlife Conservation Officer Doty McDowell, Veterinarian Walt Cottrell, and Wildlife Biologist Jon DeBerti suspend the female elk calf from a hand held scale which recorded the weight at 59.62 pounds. As students looked on, the released female calf, outfitted with her new ear tag and radio collar, circled and then ran off in the direction where her mother was last seen. Mulvihill Photos

Students from the Helping Hands for Habitat organization had an incredible field day. About 30 of them visited the Elk Homestead property in Benezette. The 245-acre parcel is the proposed site of the Pennsylvania Wilds Elk Visitor Center, planned for construction next year.

As soon as the bus arrived, students got a look at a roaming wild bull elk with antlers in velvet.

Wildlife Conservation Officer Doty McDowell instructed them to spread out and walk in groups through fields in search of a newborn elk calf.

Steady morning rain never dampened the students' spirits, even after a couple hours of walking through fields of wet weeds up to their waists. Enthusiasm skyrocketed when an elk calf was finally located.

Students positioned themselves in a large circle around the less-than-a-week old calf, which sprang to its feet and pranced in the circle, surrounded by the students. Then the Game Commission team went to work.

As part of an ongoing study, the female calf was outfitted with a numbered identification ear tag and an expandable radio collar. Telemetry monitoring will be used to determine the location of the calf for the next 20 months.

After samples were drawn for a blood count and chemical analysis, the calf was placed in a net and suspended on a scale. The weight was recorded at 59.62 pounds.

McDowell said the capture would have been unlikely without the help of the students, because an elk calf can outrun a grown man by the time it is one week old.

The animal was released in the same location where it had been captured. Upon release, the young calf looked around and pranced off toward the area where its mother had been seen an hour earlier.

A connection to the people who called this area home turned up in a corn field, reminding our writer and his little sister how much has changed on the Sinnemahone.

Later, the students traveled to Benezette to see a snake program provided by Jeff and Janet Colwell of Hicks Run Outfitters.

They left with expanded knowledge and memories of an unforgettable field trip.