Are the elk in the Jemez the native sub-species?
The elk found in the Jemez are not its native sub-species. There is one species of elk across the world, described as “elk” in North America and as “red deer’ in Europe and New Zealand. However, there are numerous sub-species of elk across the world and within North America. Humans eradicated the Jemez’ native elk (the Merriam subspecies Cervus elaphus merriami) though hunting by 1910. Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), from Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were reintroduced to the Jemez in 1947 and 1964 by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. This elk herd has grown in size to up to 4,500 in the Jemez and up to 3,000 in the Valles Caldera.
Related Questions
- Could reintroduced elk transmit diseases to domestic livestock and native wildlife, especially since the discovery of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a captive white-tailed deer in north Missouri?
- What kind of testing and surveillance is in place in Montana on native deer and elk, and on alternative livestock farms and what are the results?
- Are the elk in the Jemez the native species?
