In Point Reyes National Seashore, a few Tule elk got their afternoon meal on the 5th of July and that is an act of good faith.
The Protest
As the elk fed from the grounds of the Northern California park that have been shrunk by drought, they spotted dozens of protestors walk by on the road. The leaders, dressed in orange inmate jumpsuits and designed antlers were holding a large brown sign that has white alphabets meant to look like the standard signage seen all over National Park property.
Last year, management at Point Reyes National Seashore wasn't able to live up to the NPS motto, by the estimation of the protesters, by letting 152 Tule elk lose their lives due to extreme starvation and lack of sufficient water while inhabiting a 2,200-acre enclosure around Tomales Point.
This statistic initially came up in a press release which the NPS published on the 30th of March. The number of elk that died and the preluded reason for the death of these animals are enough, both singly and combined, to make a bad picture of what is taking place at Point Reyes.
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The Hearing
But not until an emergency hearing was conducted in federal court on the 24th of June that the comprehensive extent of the problem was brought to light to the public.
Wildlife photographers, eight park visitors, and specialized wildlife scientists attested on the elks' behalf, disclosing a lot of cringe-worthy details. Some of these details were in the form of spoken testimony, some in the form of pictures.
Dr. Amy Allen, a Veterinarian and Dr. Judd Howell, a wildlife ecologist, attested that toxic hemlock and lupine were found in the digestive systems of multiple dead bodies, proving that the elk started feeding on poisonous forage when there was nothing else for them to eat.
Other witnesses also testified that they saw dead elk stuck in the fences enclosing their turf, as if they were making efforts to escape so they could get water and adequate food sources. Two other strong and well populations of Tule elk wander the larger region unfenced, making the distinct impacts of the fenced area even starker.
Habitat of these Elks
Comparisons to body of water confined within an enclosure where the animals were kept and prison was scattered all through the testimony.
Visitor Jack Gescheidt said, the knowledge that roughly one third of the Tomales Point herd have already lost their lives from a lack of sufficient water and food only last year, is soul-crushing to him. And his visits to Point Reyes are now related to paying a visit to a dog shelter.
The wire fences that enclose the space are for preventing the elk from roaming into nearby cattle ranches while in search of food and water. But when the animal became desperate, the fences become traps instead.
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