Elk in Texas - Why hasn't TPWD Made them a game animal or protected?

[LWC]

https://pitchstonewaters.com/are-elk...-to-texas-yes/

Pretty good article and explanation on why Merriam's elk as a subspecies and the only species in Texas is not sound science.

That is a good read. The state spends lots of money on the desert bighorn that from the article our current species is not native. And won't recognize the native elk as a game animal. Wish we had a enough people that cared about them to get that turned around. The other states (even the eastern populated ones) seem to do well with their elk. Seems like TX with our resources could do as well or better.

[1riot1ranger]

Yes. Like it isn't even there.

lol there are some impressive videos of elk herds jumping fences with no more effort than it would take to step over it.

[TTUgrad08]

I have no idea the answer, but can elk jump a normal barbed wire fence? If not, seems like it’d be pretty much impossible to have a “native” free ranging elk population as they’d never cross property lines.


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If not, they just go through them.
They are hard on Agg fields too.

[camoclad]

Long time ago, when the draw was by hand written postcards, I always applied for the hunts that listed elk as a "other huntable species". I thought I was being sneaky applying for a javelina at Sierra diablo and thinking I was going to kill an elk. I thought it would be the rarest of all hunts, to kill a public land elk in texas....

[Longue Carabine]

Has anyone gotten pictures of any in Medina county? (That aren't on a high fenced property)

[flywise]

I hear them screaming every time i go to the lease during bow season. Just wish the neighbors fence would get a huge hole in it

[Texans42]

As I mentioned above, I don't believe TPWD regulation of elk would lead to increased hunter opportunity unless they were mandated by the legislature to recover elk in habitats that can support them and the legislature provided funding.

I was agreeing with you, more in reference to the later where it would be a closed season unless deemed huntable via biologists. Sorry reading back it wasn’t really clear what I was trying to state.