Well, they are fairly liberal with bear tags, so I'm not sure bears are to blame.
"In one study in Idaho, black bears took about 60 to 70 percent of the elk calves in the first couple of weeks," Toman said. "So it's really important from that standpoint to get all of the calves on the ground in synchronicity, and get it over with quickly. The bears can only eat so much."
"The second-lowest calf birth weight was in 2002, when the study started, which coincided with a cold, dry March. March is the last trimester of a cow elk's pregnancy. In 2003, the birth weight was very strong and the spring was warm and wet. Another drop in the birth weight was in 2006 following a winter that had persistent snow crust that limited the animals' access to forage."
The above quotes were from an article in The Billings Gazette " Study reaffirms bears biggest predator threat to young elk calves
BRETT FRENCH Gazette Outdoor Writer Nov 1, 2006"
Add in predation from lions, coyotes, eagles, etc., and being a baby ungulate in the wild is a pretty tough life.
