Fox 43 First Reported: A trophy bull elk was found dead earlier this month on Pennsylvania’s elk range, the apparent victim of winter wildlife feeding, which is illegal for elk. Test results returned last week cited rumen acidosis as causing the death of the 6- by 7-point bull found Jan. 9 in Byrnedale, Elk County. The disorder affects wild deer and elk, as well as domestic animals such as cattle and sheep, and in wild animals often is linked to supplemental feeding by humans.
Rumen acidosis is brought on by the sudden introduction of carbohydrates, usually grain and often corn, to an animal’s diet.
The diets of wild deer and elk vary by their home ranges, and often change throughout the year. Their bodies adjust to accommodate those changes, but if their diets change suddenly rather than gradually, their bodies are unable to digest the newly introduced food. If they eat enough of that food, it can kill them.
That appears to be what happened with the bull elk. An elk’s diet is made up mostly of grasses and other soft vegetation. When the bull suddenly overloaded on corn, its body produced too much lactic acid in an attempt to digest this new food, causing its death.
Though it’s not yet clear how the bull came in contact with the corn on which it fed, it’s likely the corn was placed intentionally by humans, perhaps because they believed their actions would help wildlife. The incident occurred just after a nasty cold snap, a time when concerned individuals begin to worry about the survivability of wildlife. As shown by this case, intentional feeding can have a counter effect of harming wildlife. Read more: read more….
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