Benjamin Spillman

bspillman@rgj.com

Fish biologist Jacob Stoller never expected he’d be called upon to use a slug-loaded shotgun to save two elk lives.

But that’s exactly what happened and Stoller was happy to help.

Stoller, a Lahontan cutthroat trout specialist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, was the only one available in his Elko office on a recent Monday when a local resident reported two elk in distress.

The resident told wildlife officials that during the weekend he saw two bull elk with entangled antlers.

The elk had been stuck together for days in mountainous habitat south of Wendover and appeared to be in dire straits.

With no wildlife biologists or rangers available to check it out Stoller, a lifelong hunter, volunteered to step in.

He and two other fish biologists met the resident in Wendover then headed out to the site.

After searching the area the group was able to find the elk which were still stuck together, likely the result of a fight over territory.

“They were in bad shape, especially the smaller bull,” Stoller said.

It’s not unheard of for elk to get their antlers entangled in trees, fences or even with other elk. And when it happens it can be deadly to the elk if they can’t get human help.

Typically, when wildlife officials intervene with large animals they use a tranquilizers or a rope to immobilize them.

The problem with the elk was that they appeared to be so fatigued by the ordeal tranquilizers could be fatal to the animals but getting close enough to rope them and saw the antlers apart could have been dangerous for the humans.

“The best method we had was shooting the antlers off with a shotgun and slug,” Stoller said.

So he positioned himself within about five to eight yards of the elk, separated from them by the branches of a tree.

From there he fired three shots. The first one missed altogether. The second nicked one of the antlers.

“I aimed a little bit high,” Stoller said. “If I was going to miss I wanted to miss high.”

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The third shot was a solid strike that broke one of the antlers.

It took the elk a few moments to realize they were free. Once they figured it out they half-heartedly continued to fight for a few moments.

Eventually the smaller elk fled and the larger one just stood in place.

Stoller said the crew decided it was time for them to leave, too, so the larger elk could have a chance to relax, recover and then go find some water and food.

“Anytime you can help an animal survive like that it feels good,” Stoller said.