Oregon: Surreal Scene As Elk Herd Mowed Down on Sunset Highway

The driver of a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche slammed into a group of elk crossing the road in Western Oregon this week, resulting in the loss of life for 12 of the majestic animals.

The pickup collided with the herd whilst trying to cross the Sunset Highway west of Portland. Most of the elk, unfortunately, died before the police arrived, while others had to be euthanized. The driver, 36-year-old James Childers III, was unharmed but clearly in shock because of what had happened.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Fish and Wildlife Division was able to salvage the meat and will be distributing it across the local counties to food banks and senior centers.<br> <a href="https://t.co/nkEC8eEyhz">https://t.co/nkEC8eEyhz</a></p>&mdash; RMEF (@RMEF) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMEF/status/949711918356418560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2018</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Police Deputy Brenden McKoy explained that the serious leg injuries to most of the animals involved left them with no choice: "There was no way we could save the elk. It was sad."

The Fish and Wildlife Division was able to salvage the meat and will be distributing it to local food banks and senior centers.

Given the great number of elk involved, Sergeant Jeff Proulx of the Oregon State Police said the incident came across as "totally odd."

According to his department, there are many vehicle collisions this time of year, but the great number of animals crossing a highway all together at once is unusual.

"You would think normally it would be a smaller group," Mr Proulx said.

"Elk are big."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After incredible crash on U.S. 26 killed 12 elk this week, a reminder of where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wildlife?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wildlife</a> collisions are most frequent <a href="https://t.co/bVy59erpHF">https://t.co/bVy59erpHF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PNW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PNW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oregon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oregon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Washington?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Washington</a> <a href="https://t.co/3fQrxEmsbq">pic.twitter.com/3fQrxEmsbq</a></p>&mdash; Bureau of Land Management Oregon (@BLMOregon) <a href="https://twitter.com/BLMOregon/status/949421440662556673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2018</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

January is quite a low month for animal-vehicle collisions across the state, with October and November normally marking the greatest number as this is when elk and deer migrate to higher elevations to find food.

Source:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2018/01/12_elk_died_after_unpredictabl.html#incart_target2box_default_news#incart_target2box_targeted_news