Gone but not forgotten

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With all the I-5 road construction, I was wondering what happened to the elk herd off the Blackwell exit?

— Kay E., Medford

Kay, we hate to break this to you, but that elk herd has been gone for at least a couple of years, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Permits issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife indicate the owner, Dick Walker, moved the elk to Molalla, outside the Portland metro area.

You'd have to go all the way back to 2005, Kay, to see elk out there. They were a popular attraction for locals who wanted to see them close up.

The wild elk you see roaming the mountains and valleys of Southern Oregon are Roosevelt elk, named after Theodore Roosevelt. Big bulls can weigh as much as half a ton. Roosevelt elk are found west of the Cascades and their range extends from far Northern California to Vancouver Island. Other areas of western North America have Rocky Mountain elk, which are slightly lighter in color and somewhat smaller, with the big guys weighing in at around 700 pounds.

Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to youasked@mailtribune.com. We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.

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