Arizona's Elk

[Outdoor Writer]

ARIZONA'S ELK

 

Copyright by Tony Mandile

 

Ask any Arizona big-game hunter what permit they covet the most, and the majority would likely say they would sacrifice their first-born to draw a chance to chase elk. They have good reason too.

 

Over the last few years, the Grand Canyon State has been a premier producer of elk, both for quantity and quality. A few years ago, the success figures for the state's hunters outranked all the others in the west that offer elk hunting. Also, many of the bulls taken have scored high in the various record books.

 

The elk population in Arizona is currently at an all-time high since modern management began. The Arizona Game and Fish Department estimates the number to be between 20 and 30,000 right now. This is mostly due to a few years where the rainfall was above average, keeping the wapiti's home range in prime condition. Yet, the elk herd hasn't always been in such great shape. In fact, at the turn of the century, elk in Arizona were extinct.

 

The native elk that inhabited the state was known as the Merriam's elk. Large herds, often numbering in the hundreds, gathered in the cienega's to feed on lush grasses. In early fall the distinct, high-pitched bugle of the majestic wapiti pierced the quiet of frosty mornings, issuing a challenge to other bulls who dare trespass on his harem.

 

Unfortunately, a drastic change took place, and the Merriam's elk disappeared. Records indicate the last sightings occurred in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

 

No one has been able to pinpoint the exact reasons why the Merriam's became extinct. Yet historians have long held to the theory that indiscriminate hunting over many years might have been the major cause of the animal's demise. The historians readily point fingers at the miners, soldiers and settlers. In their quest for survival, they considered the elk as a bare necessity to provide food and clothing.

 

Naturally, the elk's size and superior meat made it a favorite target for the meat hunters. The soldiers at a few of the military outposts subsisted solely on elk for their fresh meat. The hides, frequently sold and traded, produced tough, long-lasting leather for shirts, jackets and britches. Although they were worthless for anything other than trinkets or curiosities, the canine teeth from bulls quickly became collector's items. The historians claim the canine teeth led to a fad that accounted for the slaughter of thousands of elk.

 

The resurgence of the elk herd in Arizona was not accidental, nor was it a natural occurrence. The slow, bountiful turn-around happened because of the concern of people who missed the shrill calls of big bulls on crisp mornings.

 

Members of the Winslow B.P.O.E (ELk) Club obtained 86 elk in 1913 from Yellowstone National Park, one of the few places in the country where the elk still flourished then. They transported the animals to Arizona by train, which at the time was probably not an easy chore. The Mogollon Rim had been the Merriam's elk prime habitat before its demise. Consequently, the area on the Rim near Chevelon Canyon became the site for the initial release.

 

More Yellowstone elk supplemented the original 86 on the Rim over the years. In addition, elk were planted in areas near Clifton, Cutter, Kingman, Williams and Alpine. Even Mt. Graham near Safford received a small number, but the animals never took hold there.

 

In 1913, moving big-game animals was not common practice but a novel and chancy undertaking. Today, this type of game management is very common and has become one of the key tools of wildlife managers throughout the country.

 

Arizona's first regulated elk hunt was held in 1935. By then the various herds in the state had found a niche and were multiplying at a respectable rate. Of the 276 who hunted that year, 145 killed elk. The annual hunts started in 1950, when more than 4,000 hunters harvested 1,500 bulls and cows. Then came the 80s and the boomer years. A record harvest that led the western states in success percentage took place in 1985 when the 7,000 permit holders killed a little over 3,500 elk and produced a success rate of 52 percent. In most states, 25 to 40 is considered good.

 

I first hunted elk in the early 1960s in Unit 1. My grandfather was still hunting then, so we both drew permits. I hadn't been in Arizona very long and knew little about the area. Luckily, a friend who had hunted there before invited us to tag along with him.

 

Four days of hard hunting eventually yielded me a small 5x5 bull. My grandfather shot a spike that had two-foot long antlers. The most interesting thing about the whole hunt, though, was a humorous incident with my friend Bill.

 

After three days of hunting, he decided it was time to clean up. He climbed into his camper that afternoon, stripped to his birthday suit and gave himself a sponge bath. As a bonus, he shaved his four-day-old beard and doused himself him with deodorant and after-shave lotion.

 

A few of Bill's other friends had come along on the hunt, too. As they watched him go through his ritual, they couldn't resist needling him. Their comments included the usual, "An elk will never come within a mile of you. You smell like a ladies' temperance meeting in a church," and a myriad of other jibs and jabs.

 

That evening, about an hour before dark, Bill walked a few hundred yards along an old logging trail, sat down with his back against a stump and 15 minutes later shot a magnificent 6 x 6 bull. As if trained, the trophy fell in the middle of the road, where it was an easy task to load the bull and bring it to camp for skinning. Of course, those who ribbed him about his odorous elk lure turned amazingly silent.

 

Back then, getting drawn for a permit was fairly easy. If I remember well, I had four or five permits during the 60s and early 70s. Unfortunately, I can't recall when the computer last smiled upon me; it's been a long time and more than a decade ago.

 

Among hunters, Arizona already has the reputation as THE place to go for a trophy. The state has produced dozens of bulls that have scored 375 or more Boone and Crockett points and a couple that went over 400 points. These are EXCEPTIONAL trophies.

 

People unfamiliar with Arizona often ask me how a state that is mostly desert can put out impressive elk trophies. After I explain about our acres and acres of big forests and tall mountains, I usually go into the reason for the preponderance of big bulls.

 

A prime contributor is the limited permit system. Like it or not, a well-regulated harvest by limiting hunters and where they hunt has gone a long way to provide the good success now enjoyed on many of our big-game animals. In fact, if we look at the only one not under a limited permit system --- the wild turkey --- we will find it is the only one in trouble. Yes, the spring hunt is limited, but during the fall hunt, both sexes are legal and anyone who wants to hunt can do so by simply buying a tag.

 

Another reason our elk grow big is the terrain and climate. The elk spend much of their time in the timber at the higher elevations. When the winter snows hit, however, they usually can find lower habitat nearby that provides them with cover and food to make it through the winter. This alone greatly reduces natural mortality and results in more mature animals. Surely, the fact we get less severe winter weather than most of the states with elk populations helps, as well.

 

Ironically, the burgeoning elk population has also caused some problems --- at least if you listen to the ranchers in the northeast section of the state. They claim the elk are causing extensive damage on THEIR land by eating their hay and knocking down fences. Right now, in fact, the cattle growers, sportsmen and the game department are haggling over compensation the ranchers are seeking for the damages. Some want payment, while others would like to have landowner's permits issued to them. This way, they can sell the permits to the highest bidders.

 

A similar plan has been in place in New Mexico for a while. Usually some outfitter buys the permits from the rancher, then charges a couple of thousand dollars for a hunt. Personally, I would rather see the state pay the ranchers a set amount of money for the damage each year. I also would like to see the federal government increase the grazing fee to the ranchers for the damage cattle do to the elk habitat.

 

Unquestionably, one of the top elk hunting places in the entire country is the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Sadly, it is also the most expensive. For about $12,000, the tribe will almost guarantee a trophy. They kill nothing but 6 x 6 bulls or better and only take 40 to 50 hunters per year. The price includes lodging, food, guide, license and transportation. And believe it or not, the waiting list of hunters willing to part with that much money is long enough to fill the next three years.

 

With the proper management, Arizona's excellent elk hunting should continue for many years to come.

 

-----30----

[billrquimby]

"The native elk that inhabited the state was known as the Merriam's elk. Large herds, often numbering in the hundreds, gathered in the cienega's to feed on lush grasses. In early fall the distinct, high-pitched bugle of the majestic wapiti pierced the quiet of frosty mornings, issuing a challenge to other bulls who dare trespass on his harem. Unfortunately, a drastic change took place, and the Merriam's elk disappeared. Records indicate the last sightings occurred in the late 1890s and early 1900s. No one has been able to pinpoint the exact reasons why the Merriam's became extinct. Yet historians have long held to the theory that indiscriminate hunting over many years might have been the major cause of the animal's demise. The historians readily point fingers at the miners, soldiers and settlers. In their quest for survival, they considered the elk as a bare necessity to provide food and clothing."

 

Tony:

 

Where can I find literature mentioning "large herds, often numbering into the hundreds" of Merriam's elk?

 

Other than Ben Avery's ramblings about the Beckers of Springerville allegedly paying hunters to slaughter elk for meat that they then sold to the railroad in Winslow, and similar undocumented stuff from Bob Housholder, I've found nothing that convinces me that we had elk in Arizona before those Wyoming elk were brought here.

 

As far as I know no petroglyphs depicting elk have been found anywhere in Arizona and no more than a very few elk bones have been found in archaeological digs, at least not in the numbers that might be expected if elk actually existed here in any numbers. The few elk bones, tools and teeth found here could have been traded, much like the sea shells from the Gulf of California found in digs all over the state.

 

Yes, there are heads and skins that are purported to be Merriam elk allegedly collected in Arizona, but the guy whose name is attached to them may or may not have visited our state when he claimed to have shot them. There also was a set of antlers that hung at the old Beaverhead Lodge for many years that allegedly were from a Merriam's elk, along with another set of ancient antlers someone found nailed to a shack on Mount Lemmon.

 

I've heard of no other "Merriam elk" antlers here, but there may be a couple more. It would take DNA studies to learn if, in fact, these were from Merriam elk. Unfortunately, if they were, who's to say they were shot in Arizona?

 

My point is, IF there were Merriam's elk here in great numbers, wouldn't Indians have chipped their images on rocks and scattered elk bones all around their villages as they did with our deer, sheep and pronghorn? Wouldn't they also would have used elk antlers and bones for tools, and wouldn't these have been found at every dig in elk country? Wouldn't more than just a few sets of pre-1900 elk antlers have survived, too?

 

Also, considering the few roads in Arizona before 1900 through our rough terrain, it seems darned near impossible to me for a relatively few guys armed mostly with single shot rifles and a few lever-action repeaters to kill every last elk in Arizona in such a short period of time, even with year-around shooting of every elk encountered -- especially when early on the slaughter would have taken place in "hot" areas during the last Indian wars.

 

Yes, I know the wolf and the grizzly bear were extirpated in Arizona, but neither was as abundant as elk would be, and both were relentlessly pursued and trapped because of the bounties paid under government programs.

 

I don't know if the Merriam's elk existed here or not, but I would think there would be a heck of a lot more hard evidence and not just the anecdotal stuff originating with guys like Avery, Housholder, et al who wrote about what they were told by a friend of someone who had been told by his grandfather's uncle's cousin's brother about seeing great herds of elk in Arizona.

 

Bill Quimby

[gamespec]

I'm in the middle of spring hunt recommendations now so I have to be brief.

 

I have done some genetic work and have written/read about Merriam's elk some. The history of Merriam's elk and our genetic work is summarized in this article:

Merriam's Elk Article

 

I have procured one of the Merriam's Elk DNA samples we were not able to get during the research and I think I know where another might be that was not archived correctly at the American Museum. I have plans to do more genetic work with the more refined methods now available but I need to get a couple big projects off my plate first.

 

I also coathored a chapter with Dave Brown and Neil Carmony in the upcoming AZ Wildlife Trophies book (2010) that does a pretty good job of documenting historical AZ elk and all translocations in the state. Bottom line is they were apparently not very common from the mid-1800s on (when people started writing about wildlife here). Not sure how many we may have had before that. One of the last ones killed by Nelson for the Smithsonian already had a musket ball and some buck shot in it, so the last few may have been pursued pretty intensively.

 

 

JIM

[CouesWhitetail]

thanks for all the great info Tony, Bill and Jim!

[Outdoor Writer]

Bill,

 

I think there was plenty of mention of the Merriam's long before Househouder and Avery mentioned them.

 

It's been more than 20 years since Iwrote that article, but I do recall doing a bit of research that indicated the Merriam's existed here and in NM and even in the Guadaloupe Mts. in Texas. A couple early explorers/trappers mentioned seeing and killing elk in their journals, some of which I saw quoted in Man and Wildlfe in Arizona.

 

Anyway, I see Jim jumped in, and he has indeed done some DNA work on the Merriam's, as explained in his very informative article.

[billrquimby]

Jim, Tony:

 

I may be wrong, but I think the “Jess Burke antlers” are the same antlers that hung for years in Beaverhead Lodge and were acquired by the UA when the lodge was dismantled/burned. It’s encouraging to know that their DNA is different from Wyoming elk. However, it was my understanding that those antlers had been around so long their exact history was uncertain. As a boy and young man in Yuma in the 1950s, I must have heard at least three or four different stories about where that elk was shot and by whom.

 

Elk antlers from mature bulls get handed down through generations and sometimes are transported long distances. Typically, they must be in awful shape before someone throws away or destroys a big set of antlers. There was a lot of interest in elk after the Merriam’s race allegedly vanished from our state, and this makes me wonder why so very few pre-1900 elk antlers were preserved in Arizona.

 

It will be interesting to know what the DNA study of the Nelson specimens from the Museum of Natural History indicates. Edward William Nelson was a respected naturalist in his later years but in 1886 he was just 31 or 32 years old, and was known mostly as an amateur but experienced ornothologist.

 

This was an era when men interested in natural history rushed around, trying to collect and describe as many “new” species and subspecies as possible, and shenanigans that would put today’s record-book cheaters to shame were not unknown.

 

I’m not saying Nelson was a fraud early in life, but it was reported that he was suffering from tuberculosis and had a heart condition while living with his mother in a tent in Milligan Valley near Springerville and Eagar in 1886, This was the same year that Geronimo was captured, bringing a brief hiatus in Arizona’s Indian wars, but he probably would not have known it when he reported finding elk on Mount Ord.

 

And that begs still another question: If there were large numbers of elk in the White Mountains, why would a seriously ill young man have to travel all they way to what could have been a very dangerous place (Mount Ord) before finding elk? He was living in what is prime elk country today and should have been able to shoot one from his tent if elk were present in the numbers some claim.

 

If the elk heads and skins he reportedly personally collected do prove to be related to the Jess Burke antlers, that would make it seem likely that there were elk in the White Mountains prior to 1900. However, it would not explain why so few elk bones, teeth and antlers are in the archaeological records here.

 

\Bill Quimby

[azbackwoods]

Gentlemen,

I have a little info on the Merriam's antlers off of the barn at Beaverhead Lodge that were Jesse Burks. Jesse was my great uncle And i have a recent picture of those antlers and I know who possess them and it is not U of A!! The base is 13 and a half inches in circumference and the mass is unbelievable. If someone will tell me how to post a picture on this site I will.

 

Bobby Brown

[ready2hunt]

I for one would love to see those!

 

To attach a picture click on "More reply options" on the right of the reply button

 

Go to the bottom of the post where it says "Attachment"

 

Click on the button "Browse"

 

Then double click on the photo which is on your computer

 

Finally click the "Attach this File" button and then "Add your reply"

 

I hope that is not too confusing....I am not the best at giving directions

[azbackwoods]

Here are the pictures of Jesse Burk's Antlers!!

 

 

[azbackwoods]

Here are the pictures of Jesse Burk's Antlers!!

 

 

[ready2hunt]

That is UNREAL!!! Thank you for posting this WOW

[trophyhnter]

You can also email the photo to Amanda and she will post it for you.

[bonecollector]

Holy MASS

[sidwynder505]

just wondering if there were any isolated packets of our Merriams elk that might have mixed with the Jackson hole herd??? It could explain our hudge bulls we have hear?? just a thought tho,? ......dear to day dream!!

[Apache7mm]

Just looks like regular ol sheds from San Carlos JK, Amazing and to be from very long ago, pretty cool, Great topic guys! Thanks.

 

DAN