Hunter Criticized for Letting Grizzlies Feed on Elk Carcass Didn’t Do Anything Illegal, Officials Say

There are a few reasons why you shouldn’t leave your legally harvested elk carcass within reach of a family of grizzly bears. You’re guaranteed to lose some part of the animal, and you’ll be teaching the bears a bad lesson (that backyards are good places to score easy meals). You could also catch some heat from your neighbors, who might not love the sight of a sow and three cubs pulling the elk carcass off the front-end-loader of your tractor.

This exact scenario played out in Mountain View County, Alberta this month when a photograph of this very scene was shared to social media. The photo shows a sow reaching up to grab ahold of the elk carcass, which is hanging from a tractor, while her cubs feed just below it. This upset some locals, according to The Albertan, and the hunter responsible for hanging his elk this way was criticized and reported to Alberta Fish and Wildlife. After an investigation, however, officials determined that the hunter did nothing illegal and was in full compliance with regulations.

The Albertan reports that the photo was taken about 50 miles north of Cochrane near the communities of Bergen and Fallen Timber. The local news outlet doesn’t name the elk hunter, and it doesn’t specify where the post originated, only that it was shared to a group in the Sundre area. Outdoor Life reached out to Alberta Fish and Wildlife to confirm this reporting, and government spokesperson Laura Vilchis explained the basic facts in an emailed statement.

“On Sept. 10, Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services received reports of social media posts showing a grizzly bear sow and her three cubs feeding on a harvested elk carcass,” Vilchis wrote in the statement. “Fish and wildlife officers visited the site where the elk had been harvested to conduct a compliance check … After a thorough review, the officer confirmed that the hunter had complied with all regulations.”  

Vilchis noted a few of the main game violations that investigators were looking for, such as tagging the animal immediately and ensuring no part of the meat is wasted. She did not specify what was left of the elk carcass by the time investigators arrived, but since the hunter wasn’t charged with a violation, it’s possible they got all the meat off the carcass before it was fed on by the bears. The cape may have been damaged, but with the cape still on the carcass it seems unlikely he was planting to mount the bull anyway (though it’s a good one).

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Vilchis added that with archery elk season underway, non-hunters need to remember that hunters are on the landscape. (And in many cases, they understand the rules better than the non-hunting public does.)

“Hunters know that regulations must be followed,” Vilchis says, “and if they do not follow the regulations they will be charged.”