Missoula's Elk Herds - Habituation

© Paul Queneau, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

This "Living With Wildlife: Missoula Elk Herds" brochure summarizes information on the herds (1 megabyte Acrobat file).

Missoula's Elk Herds

Habituation

Elk spend time near the edges of Missoula subdivisions, but so far haven’t taken up residence among the homes (Bert Lindler photo).

In recent decades, elk have shown themselves just as much at home in irrigated alfalfa fields and golf courses as in mountain meadows.

When elk give up wild places to live year-round among people, they lose their fear of humans. Biologists say that they become habituated.

Habituated elk can cause problems, some far more serious than nibbling posies in the garden. When elk are on roads at night, they’re a traffic hazard.

During the spring, when cows are protective of their calves, and during the fall when bull elk spend much of their time fighting, habituated elk may attack people. Elk are so large that a few kicks can cause serious injuries.

Areas where habituation has become a problem include:

Banff, Canada where most of the elk were trapped and hauled away after residents became fed up by attacks.
Yellowstone National Park where elk have sometimes attacked tourists.
Estes Park, Colorado where an elk wandered around town with a plastic lawn chair stuck on its head.