The Wisconsin DNR needs the public’s help in ongoing investigations into the illegal harvests of two cow elk in separate events in Jackson County during the 2022 gun deer season.
DNR staff received and responded to a mortality signal from a cow elk’s monitoring collar on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. They found the animal on private property near Whitney Road in the town of Knapp. DNR staff received a second mortality signal from another monitoring collar on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. DNR staff found the second elk near the Castle Mound and Brockway Roads in the town of Brockway.
Necropsy tests confirmed each animal was shot. The deaths of two breeding cows are losses to the elk population growth. The DNR issued a call for tips when the investigation first began in late 2022. However, the information so far has been inconclusive. DNR needs more information.
No tip is too small. You can share tips of any kind by calling the DNR’s confidential violation hotline at 1-800-847-9367.
Elk were reintroduced in Jackson County starting in 2015. DNR staff work with partner agencies to support a robust population. This includes collar monitoring of mortalities and location data of calves and adults.
