My thoughts, exactly Ben!

Super, Ben!

Wow..hunters saving animals so they can be shot and killed. Chaulk one up for the do gooders. Mother nature says what should be done...not you Ben and your Buddies. Keep your nose out of this, if you can.

As long as the same people who are feeding them now aren't bitching and asking for the elk to be removed from their pastures come spring and summer when they stick around.

Awesome, we found a new sucker that has feelings for the elk. I hope he`s got a lot of hay and no cattle to feed. He better start planning now for next year because they`ll be back for more from now on. I cant wait till spring to get rid of all that urinated on hay that those elk ruined. Once elk find a haystack, they`ll chase away whatever the hay is intended for (cows horses, etc),then they urinate on the hay. After they leave (it won`t be anytime soon), no other animal will eat what`s left of the hay because of the urine scent.
I sure hope those CO`s regret ever dropping those friggin things off in our back country.

By Tractor:
"I sure hope those CO`s regret ever dropping those friggin things off in our back country"
Since when have the C.O's even admitted that they or some other arm of government relocated those elk to the area, north of Salmon Valley? We all know that "someone" delivered the elk.
metalman.

I would not like to see any animal starving, wild or domestic, but the fact remains that these are wild animals, and remapping mother nature by feeding these animals and encouraging them to remain among houses and residences only works if you are willing to contiue doing it and basically turning them into domesticated animals. If they are still around in the spring when they calf or the fall when they rut, it will be a different story.

Anybody who insists that nature ought to be allowed to take its course (starvation) is ignorant of the fact that we (mankind) have not been allowing nature to take its course for at least the last one and a half centuries.

Our survival is based on manipulation of nature in every possible way.

Suppression of natural cycles of forest fires. Pumping up from kilometers below ground of billions of barrels of oil every year, mining hundreds of millions of tons of coal, trillions of cubic meters of natural gas, genetic modification, gene splicing, artificial insemination, environmental destruction, ravaging of ocean fishstocks, wholescale extermination of species....

Well, so much for NOT interfering with nature!

Keep up the good work, Ben!

I won't pretend to know anything about elk, their migratory patterns, their behaviours.
I know for myself, if I lived on Christopher Drive and had to watch starving elk forage for food that's not available, I'd be pretty upset.
These folks are only doing what normal caring folks would do. Right or wrong, not having food would hit most people's consciousness.

Bang on Ben!

Lets start feeding the bears in the fall when they are looking for food instead of shooting them and if anyone thinks a charging bear is more dangerous your wrong

Lets shut down the food banks and let nature take its course.

Hey Brownshoe you left out charging moose.

Half the people on here need to turn the educated rational brains off for a just one moment..

To apologize for feeding a starving creature or to provide help to support life is to alpologize for being human.. Once in a while humanity and a bit of common good trumps anything else even if its seems a bit bazzare or breaks rules of those who are standing on the outside looking in. At the end of the day the peole who have the ability care are the people who make a difference..

I dont know about you.. but i want these people on my side when it really counts..

Thank you Ben & Volunteers for "making a difference.."

When the winter is harsh at the inlaws farm in Saskatchewan as well as formerly in Horsefly it is common for the elk to come in and eat with the cows. They always seem to leave after a short period and sometimes dont return for years. They never seemed to bother the cattle either and I never heard of them urinating on the hay?? If they did it certainly did not stop the cattle from eating it...

Well said northman, And yes Thank you to all the volunteers Great Job!!

Humans are part of "nature". We do not stand outside looking in. If Elk urinate on hay to mark their territory, humans far exceed simply urinating on what we think is our territory.

I suggest we keep on philosophizing but also offer food to “wild” animals if they seem to need some help during a winter that might kill off a few more than normal due to snow conditions.

Im all for being compassionate I just hope they will be as compassionate when they become a nuisance.

Yes, well said northman, Sarah & Ben. A big thank you to Ben & volunteers!!!!

I would rather feed the elk, then the street people, or support the needle exchange. At least the Elk have a usefulness

here comes the wolfs

I`ve seen what elk can do when they get into a haystack, or when farmers leave their bales out in the field. They will hang out and torment the livestock and horses quite aggressively. Meanwhile, what do the cows have to eat? Sometimes the farmers even have to get more hay brought in for their own livestock, costing money, and for what, some do gooders promoting this. Just leave them alone. If they die it was meant to be.
Yes, they used to be here centuries ago, but for whatever reason they are not now. So don`t try to play god.

Next go ask for a donation from your neighbours for St. Vincent De Paul. Nevermind I guess people don't eat hay, but I bet they would eat Elk! hmmmm.

I told my girlfriend its hard to comment on a story I agree with... I don't know what to say... its easy when I disagree with something to put forward my ideas.

My girlfriend says I should then be antagonist if I want to think of something to say... so what about the moose and the deer, are they any less deserving than the elk at this time of year....

All I know is the family of squirrels that live in my garden shed for the winter eat all the nuts I put in the container for them... they long ago went through the pine cone harvest... when they are done eating all the peanuts they throw the container of the floor waiting for a refill. I don't feel guilty about putting out some food for them (I might though if they got into my attic)... but its been a tough winter for them too, and it would be good to have them around again come summer. I see no harm in feeding the elk in their time of need.

On a side note I know a guy that raised a orphan black bear cub out Willow River a few years back... would eat anything especially grouse, but wouldn't touch elk meat... it lived under his deck for a winter and a bit into the next summer, then found a mate and moved on and stopped by from time to time, but just for short visits and then it would leave again. Never caused him any problems... it had a sensitive snout he was saying.

I think Northman said it well.

And now for a little break.

Fast Forward to 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wup1dNw7x6Q&playnext=1&list=PL6EAB5F6D8E2B16B6

Elk can be aggressive and hostile. They are big animals and can kill you dead if you piss them off. Best to leave them alone and not attract them by feeding them. If you attract the elks to your property their natural predators , mostly wolves, bear and cougars will follow. Watch out.

It was not widely publicised but the COs collected as many road killed moose and deer one year, as they could, kept them frozen in rented meat lockers and then dropped them off by helicopter for the bears in the spring. All on our dime. What that experiment cost, I never heard. Now why would they do that? We don't have enough black bears? Now they don't agree with us feeding elk? The people who had their names in for road killed meat that year, did without it. So in effect they were taking food out of needy human mouths and feeding it to bears in the bush. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it. Would any of the COs like to fill us in on the details of that experiment? Ben, maybe you could look into that one.