ThinkingAfield.org

A woman has died eight days after being hospitalized as the result of an apparent elk attack on her property in the Pine Lake community in the Hualapai Mountains, about 15 miles southeast of Kingman.

The attack occurred on the afternoon of Oct. 26 while the woman’s husband was in Kingman. According to the husband, when he returned around 6 p.m., he found his wife on the ground in the backyard with injuries consistent with being trampled by an elk. He also observed a bucket of spilled corn nearby. There were no witnesses to the event.

The husband called 911, and his wife was transported first to the Kingman Regional Medical Center and then to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. According to the husband, she was put into a medically induced coma due to the extent of her injuries.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) did not learn about the attack until the next day, Oct. 27, when a local resident informed a department officer. On Oct. 28, another AZGFD officer visited the community, put door hanger warning signs on residences along the road advising people not to approach or feed elk, and spoke with the victim’s husband and other residents. While at the victim’s residence, the officer observed multiple elk tracks in the yard. Read more

While you’re enjoying time outdoors this fall and winter, keep an eye open for black bear dens. Reporting den locations to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a simple, yet effective way to support bear management programs.

“Finding winter den locations is an important component to managing black bear populations, and we need hunter, trapper and landowner assistance to add new den sites to the program in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula,” said Mark Boersen, wildlife biologist at the DNR Roscommon Customer Service Center. “Currently, we are monitoring six bears from the ground and aircraft using radio tracking equipment.” Read more