Soft Release?
The winter of 1999/2000 had begun slowly, as far a snow accumulation was concerned and it would continue to be so. This would be an advantage to the deer, for example, in that they wouldn’t have to yard up early, if at all, because they would be able to get around with easy access to feed.
At the 2nd annual Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation fund raising banquet in Bancroft (Nov.1999) the 160 attendees heard that the plans called for “at least 70 elk.” On November 27, the Local Implementation Committee (LIC) was to be assisted by the Oshawa based South Central Ontario Big Game Association in erecting a compound to corral the animals. “The 50 adults will be one third male and 12 of the females will be matched with their own calves in the shipment of 20 young ones. The calves and the 20 females will be housed in a separate enclosure and released at a later date.” Prophetic words to be remembered.
The original holding area was to be larger than the 50-meter diameter compound used at Burwash, another elk site. Earlier, in October 1999, The Provincial Elk Restoration Advisory Committee (PERAC) added another fly to the ointment by asking the LIC to accept the 20, 9-10 month old calves mentioned earlier. Yet another challenge calling for a second pen for the calves and females. PERAC wanted to keep them penned until spring thus adding an extra four months of care and expense.
After an absence of 50 years the elk – 36 cows, 14 bulls and 20 calves – arrived at their destination, east of Bancroft, at the “Gin Lake compound” at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, January 10, 2000. Initial plans were to house the elk for 4-6 weeks before releasing them. This period of acclimatization is sometimes referred to as a “soft release.” However, almost immediately, the animals were exiting the livestock trailers and jumping the 10-foot walls. With no alternative organizers took down one wall to allow the elk access to the food and water supply. So much for the soft release. But, as mentioned earlier, it couldn’t have happened in a better weather year.
