Elk in the cross hairs

By JESSICA MAYRER Chronicle Staff Writer

Montana wildlife officials killed two radio-collared cow elk near Gardiner that had tested positive for exposure to brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can cause pregnant cattle, bison and elk to abort calves.

SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE A bull elk forages on a hillside in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley recently. The rest of the elk herd, which tested negative, will be allowed to continue grazing in the Paradise Valley and southcentral portions of Yellowstone National Park, where they spend most of the spring, summer and fall, Ron Aasheim, spokesman for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said Wednesday.

So far, only wildlife near Yellowstone have tested positive for brucellosis, Aasheim said.

“We have not found brucellosis anywhere else,” he said.

Officials have known for years that elk carry the disease and can transmit it to cattle and bison. But after finding it in two different cattle herds during the past year, causing Montana to lose its brucellosis-free status, state wildlife experts have ramped up efforts to track the disease.

“We really stepped that up this year,” Aasheim said.

Since 1981, FWP has tested nearly 7,000 elk for brucellosis, mostly north and west of Yellowstone Park.

But this year, after the National Veterinary Service said elk were the likely culprits infecting cattle, FWP expanded efforts to collect blood samples from hunter-harvested elk in southwestern Montana.

And the agency is working toward implementing better tracking systems, Aasheim said, “collaring another bunch of elk as we speak.”

Existing tests show up to 5 percent of the elk grazing in and near the park have been exposed to brucellosis. Fewer than half of those infected are capable of passing it on, said state veterinarian Marty Zaluski.

But cattle ranchers, nervous about the disease, are asking the state to increase elk-monitoring efforts, said Errol Rice, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association.

“It places a lot of anxiety amongst producers,” Rice said.

By better understanding the disease, FWP aims to limit cattle-wildlife interactions during late-winter and spring months when the potential for transmission is highest, rather than targeting brucellosis-positive elk for removal, Aasheim said.

And although brucellosis may be more visible now with increased testing, the threat to Montana cattle likely has not increased, Aasheim said.

“I don’t think the threat is any greater than it’s ever been,” Aasheim said.

While it’s no surprise the disease popped up this week, Rice said ranchers need to be vigilant and lobby the state to fund wildlife testing, to help ensure cattle herds stay healthy.

“Just hunters alone are not going to be able to give adequate numbers,” Rice said. “We can always do more.”

On Monday, the Montana Board of Livestock approved an “action plan” to limit transmission of the disease among cattle, requiring cattle in a seven-county area considered high risk be tested, largely based on exposure to elk and bison.

And, Zaluski said the state’s various efforts to halt the disease are paying off.

“We’ve made a fair amount of progress in a short amount of time,” Zaluski said. “But we still have a way to go.”

The two elk killed Tuesday were tested last spring and found to be carrying the disease, but Montana wildlife officials waited until the animals left the park before putting them down.

Jessica Mayrer can be reached at jmayrer@dailychronicle.com or 582-2635.

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