I'm not sure what our calf/cow ratio is, but our bull to cow ratio is 44/100. Sounds like we need to kill some bulls. what do you guys think is a healthy bull/cow ration? Sorry for hijacking the thread, just seeking knowledge. Tim.
In unhunted elk populations (like around Banff National Park), 44/100 isn't high. We are just used to
hunted population statistics--which are often skewed far from the norm.......
Wildlife agencies stateside used to think elk died of old age at 10-12 years, it's now been demonstrated that cow elk can normally live until 14, even 16 years old. Bulls probably don't live near that long.
So the average age in a hunted population is a lot younger than what would be "natural" in a unhunted or lightly hunted population. And that always begs the question how much does the younger age structure affect the physiological make-up of a population? How does it affect survival, breeding behavior, foraging ability, ect?
Casey
