The testing of wild elk in RMNP began this week with the goal of reducing the population by 50%

Elk fertility suppressants administered in RMNP this week

By Becky Weller of the Estes Park Trail-Gazette

Jan. 23, 2008

Researchers and scientists with the National Park Service have taken to the field in Rocky Mountain National Park conducting elk research. The fieldwork is furthering research in a live elk test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and the effectiveness of a new experimental multi-year fertility control agent.  

The ongoing research is part of the Rocky Mountain National Park Elk and Vegetation Management Plan, which was released in early December, 2007.

Margaret Wild, Wildlife Veterinarian and Program leader for the National Park Service, has been one of the key investigators assigned to work in the field.

“Rocky Mountain National Park has given us a really great opportunity to learn more about some new tools that may help with future management of elk both in RMNP and in other parks,” said Wild.

   A cow elk being "investigated" in the early morning of Jan. 24th near the Beaver Meadows entrance of RMNP

The Elk and Vegetation Management Plan includes a multi-use study of 120 cow elk, with research investigating the potential of a multi-year contraceptive as well as the new live animal test for CWD.

This research will be conducted on 120 female elk that are chosen randomly and tagged.  Beginning this month Wild, along with Jenny Powers, Wildlife Veterinarian for the NPS and Dr. Dan Baker, a biomedical research scientist with Colorado State University, have been tagging elk and obtaining samples for research. 

The group is currently in the process of tagging animals with yellow or blue collars.  Elk that receive a yellow collar will be given contraceptive treatments while blue collared elk will simply receive a saline solution and act as the control group. The yellow and blue tags will be divided evenly to ensure that 60 elk receive treatments while the other 60 will act as the control group.  All 120 elk will be tested for CWD through a rectal biopsy.

Researchers dart the animals from an approximate distance of 50 yards.  The dart contains a potent narcotic type drug used to anesthetize the animal.  Once the elk goes down (usually within two minutes) scientists are able to hold the animal down.  They then blindfold the elk and collect saliva, hair, fecal and blood samples in addition to the birth control injections and rectal biopsies.  Once the tests are completed the animal is given a series of reversal drugs and the elk is released.

For the birth control studies researchers are using a contraceptive called GonaCon that was developed by the USDA.  The drug is in its final steps of testing as it has already proven to be fairly successful in captive animals.  The ongoing study in RMNP is the first time researchers have been able to test the drug in the wild.  Results from the study will then be published and hopefully used in future wildlife management applications.

“It’s (GonaCon) an injection that has to be given by hand at this point,” said Powers. “Ultimately they would love to be able to deliver it by dart, but at this point it has to be delivered by hand with a syringe and needle and the animal must be marked so you’d have to capture the animal.”

Demand for contraceptive techniques in the wild is growing according to the researchers.  In addition to increasing scientific literature on GonaCon use, the group also feels that the drug would be useful in isolated areas such as Rocky Mountain National Park as other forms of population control, such as hunting, is prohibited.  The group says contraception will not replace traditional management techniques, however it will provide alternative methods for situations that require it.

“This is just another way of learning more,” said Powers.

                                     A cow elk "terminated" on 1/31 as a result of the learning process

“These animals live a long time,” said Baker.  “So to use contraceptive alone it would take forever to bring this population down to size.  It’s going to have to be used in combination with other methods.”

Officials will also look to see if the drug produces any negative side effects, although thus far it has not had any on captive animals or their developing fetuses.

In addition to the contraceptive studies researchers are also excited about having an opportunity to perform live CWD tests on elk.

“This is what’s really pretty cool about this study,” said Wild.  “We’re doing multiple studies on the same group of animals.”

While researchers have in the past been able to test wild deer for CWD through a tonsil biopsy, they have been unable to do the same with elk, as the tonsils are located deep within the throat.  In order to obtain the necessary lymphoid tissue in the past, the head would have to be removed, thus no live animal testing was possible.  However, researchers have discovered that lymphoid tissue also exists inside the rectum and can be obtained through a rectal biopsy.  With this in mind, field researchers are also collecting lymphoid tissue to test for CWD in addition to conducting the contraceptive research.

“We’ll get 120 collars out in the next month,” said Wild.  “Any animals that test positive for CWD will be removed from the population.  We know they’re going to die anyway and we can prevent transmission by taking them out.  We can also learn a lot because their carcasses will be taken to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.  We’ll take a lot of samples that will help us understand the progression of CWD.”

Researchers say that this is not a management action yet, just a way to find out more about the way CWD progresses.

“Certainly now we’re not talking management action to reduce CWD prevalence,” said Wild.

The CWD and contraception studies will work in conjunction with the culling management action that intends to remove animals over the next 20 years in an effort to reduce and maintain a healthy elk population.

Culling will begin next year and numbers of elk taken will vary depending on the size of the population.  Collared elk will be the first group to be removed over the next three years.

“Elk population (for the Park and Estes Valley) reached a high point between 1997 and 2001, with annual estimates ranging from 2,800 to 3,500,” said Kyle Patterson, information officer for RMNP.  “Since 2002, winter estimates in the Park and Estes Valley outside the Park have declined, ranging from about 1,700 to 2,200.  The target elk population is the high end of the natural range, between 1,600 and 2,100 animals.  Because this is a 20-year plan, monitoring the population is important. We’ll see if those numbers continue to increase or decrease again.  So, in some years the amount of elk may vary and we may not need to remove any elk.”

Currently 82 animals have been tagged and tested over the last two weeks.  Researchers are waiting on CWD test results and will continue to monitor the elk that have been tested for side effects and changes in health or behavior.  In addition, researchers will continue to capture and test the remaining tagged population.  These studies will continue over the next three years.

And

Group voices concern about proposed elk birth control

By Lynn Martel – from Banff, Canada’s:  Rocky Mountain Outlook

Aug. 15, 2007

A proposal by Parks Canada to reduce Banff's elk population through use of a birth control drug is drawing concern from a local environmentalist group that suggests to go ahead with the plan would be akin to using Banff's wild elk population as lab rats.

"The drug being proposed, Gonacon, has not gone through rigorous enough testing to know what the consequences might be," said Gaby Zezulka-Mailloux, of Banff-based UTSB (Under the Sleeping Buffalo) Research. "We object to our elk being used in a test

experiment as lab rats."

In response to an invitation for comments from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry, UTSB Research expressed concerns that Gonacon has not actually yet been licensed for general use, and has only been granted permits for experimental use.

As such, Zezulka-Mailloux said, not enough is known about the drug to warrant its safe use on a wild elk population.

In early August, Parks announced it planned to capture 10 cow elk before the fall mating season, fit them with radio collars and inject them with the contraceptive drug Gonacon.

"It has not been approved for general use, which is why we strongly object to it being used to conduct experiments on a wild population in a national park," Zezulka-Mailloux said. "UTSB Research supports the goal of reducing the elk population to a sustainable level, but we have serious concerns about the proposed method for achieving this goal."

To use a drug to curb Banff's burgeoning elk population, she said, would stand in violation of Canada's National Parks Act. Although the EA report states that Gonacon has no known side effects, and that the effects should wear off after two to four years, Zezulka- Mailloux said the labelling on the product advises that there is a chance some treated females would become permanently sterile.

"We object fundamentally to the introduction of sterility into a wild population as a means of reducing population," Zezulka-Mailloux said. "It contradicts the mandate of the national parks, which is to maintain and restore natural processes."

According to the EA report, Zezulka-Mailloux said, the Gonacon vaccine does not simply prevent pregnancy in the affected ndividual, but fundamentally changes the animal's behaviour such that it will demonstrate no interest in sexual activity.

"Behaviour modification of wild animals seems in stark opposition to Canada's National Parks Act mandate," Zezulka-Mailloux said. Among its list of concerns, UTSB expressed doubt about knowledge deficiencies surrounding the vaccine itself, based on a report

produced by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in March 2007, which said the data available for the efficacy and safety of Gonacon has not been adequately peer-reviewed, and has been produced in large part by the manufacturers of the product.

As well,the report advised that if registration of the product were to proceed, Gonacon should be registered for white-tail deer only, and not all cervids.

The questions don't end there either, Zezulka-Mailloux said. With Gonacon being marketed as a pesticide, wild elk are being treated as a pest rather than an integral component of the ecosystem in which they live.

Included among its concerns, UTSB also pointed out the cost of administering Gonacon to one deer, according to the US report, ranges from $500 to $1,000.

"How does this cost compare with a straightforward cull of the overabundant animals?" Zezulka-Mailloux asked. "Does Gonacon offer the most cost-effective use of Canadian taxpayer dollars to mitigate the problem at hand?"

Lastly, Zezulka-Mailloux said, the U.S. report advises that Gonacon be used in conjunction with hunting in order to maintain target population numbers.

"What advantage is there to using Gonacon at all if a cull offers a more immediate and cost-effective control of elk population sizes?" Zezulka-Mailloux asked.

For its part, Ian Syme, Banff National Park chief warden said since the deadline for public input was only last Thursday (Aug. 9), Parks Canada has only just begun the process of reviewing all the comments received, from UTSB and others.

"We're obviously reviewing the comments, and we'll be preparing responses to all of them," Syme said. "We simply haven't yet had time to do that."

Once all the comments are reviewed, and all the pertinent information examined, Syme said it would be up to Banff superintendent Jillian Roulet to make a final decision about whether or not to pursue the proposal.

And  

from various news sources:

The wasting disease tests and birth control trials will be done in conjunction with a plan to thin the park's (RMNP) elk herd from the current 3,100 to between 1,600 and 2,100.

Officials say that in the absence of natural predators, park elk have grown too numerous and are devouring aspens, willows and other native plants.

The thinning plan calls for qualified volunteers, staffers from other agencies, Indian tribes or contractors authorized by the Park Service to shoot elk at night with silencer-equipped rifles to keep the culling out of public view.

And

Banff's elk spared birth control shots

By Cathy Ellis, of the Calgary Herald

Published: Monday, September 10, 2007

BANFF -- A controversial experiment to reduce Banff's burgeoning elk population by injecting them with birth control has been put on hold.

Environmentalists are opposed to Parks Canada's trial plan to inject 10 cow elk with the experimental contraceptive drug Gonacon, arguing less invasive means should be used to curb the high numbers.

Parks Canada officials say they still hope to move ahead with the trial next year, but say  the drug would not be as effective now because the elk are heading into the fall mating season. They also want the blessing of a stakeholder group set up to give advise to parks Canada.

On the advice of our vet, who is our specialist, we believe the use of this drug to be safe," said Ian Syme, Banff's chief park warden.

The birth control plan is part of an initiative to reduce the growing number of elk around the Banff townsite to avoid a public safety threat and widespread environmental damage. Although the drug has been tested on captive elk and deer populations, Parks Canada's proposal would be the first time Gonacon has been used on a wild elk herd.

Gonacon has not been licensed in Canada or the United States for general use, only for experimental use. There are concerns the vaccine does not simply prevent pregnancy in the affected individual, but fundamentally changes the animal's behaviour such that it will demonstrate no interest in sexual activity.

"I do not think elk in Canada's premiere national park should be used as lab rats. These are wild animals," said Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada. "This drug has not been approved by any governing board in the United  States and Canada."

Gaby Zezulka-Maillou, of UTSB  Research, said she supports controlling the elk population to sustainable  levels by less invasive means. She said Gonacon has not been through enough rigorous testing to know what the consequences might be.

Labelling on the product advises there is a chance some treated females could become permanently sterile.

"First and foremost, we do believe sterilization of a wild population goes against the Canada National Parks Act," she said. "I don't feel they have adequately investigated all their options."

Susan Webb, the Town of Banff's representative on a new stakeholder group to give advice to Parks Canada, welcomes moves to reduce encounters between people and elk.

"Whatever we can do to reduce the safety risk from elk should be considered," she said. "But, obviously, experimentation with drugs and intervention should be approached with caution."

Parks Canada's elk management strategy indicates the Bow Valley can support an elk population of between 150 and 350. However, the benchmark for the area around the townsite is 20 to 50 elk in summer and 100 elk in winter.

Elk numbers have more than doubled in the past three years, with an estimated 204 animals seeking a safe haven from predators such as wolves and cougars close to town. Parks wants to avoid the situation of the 1990s, when hundreds of urban elk moved into town and were often seen strolling downtown, holding residents hostage in their homes as they feasted on gardens and attacking residents and visitors.

As well, unusually high elk numbers led to environmental problems for species such as birds and beavers, as the ungulates overgrazed shrubs and aspen and made it difficult for rejuvenation.

                             A bull elk lamenting the lack of sex drive among his potential partners