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State wildlife officers are still trying to find out who shot two elk — a cow and her calf — early last week in Boyd County.

“They were just shot and left to lay,” said Tom Zimmer, a Game and Parks conservation officer supervisor.

A landowner found the animals Oct. 26 next to a county road near Gross, about 110 miles northwest of Norfolk and not far from the South Dakota border.

The calf was dead. The mother, shot five times, was still alive but had to be euthanized. Their carcasses were intact, with no meat taken. Zimmer said it appears the shooter used a smaller-caliber weapon.

“It’s hard to say what they were thinking,” Zimmer said. “Some people go out and shoot stuff just for fun.”

The meat from the cow was salvaged and donated, he said.

If caught, the person responsible could face several charges, including taking game in a closed season, taking game without a permit, wanton waste and, possibly, shooting from a public roadway, Zimmer said.

He or she would also have to pay $1,500 per elk, the value of each animal under state law.