On March 4 I was driving on Highway 3/93 between Cranbrook and Jaffray. I looked to my left just off the highway and saw an elk entangled in a barbed wire fence. Later I spoke to someone else who had seen the elk and determined that at approximately 8:30 a.m. she had notified the conservation officer and that it was still alive.

I drove back on the same highway at approximately 3 p.m. and discovered that this elk was still there. I walked over to have a closer look. It was a horrific scene - a young female elk totally entangled in wire. She had a substantial piece of old wire wrapped around her middle and some new-looking barbed wire wrapped around her as well. Also, one of her legs was hanging from the top of the fence with the top strand of barbed wire wrapped tightly around one hoof. I suspect this young elk might have had a chance if an officer had arrived soon after they were notified. They could have tranquilized her and cut the wire off.

I question whether or not cattle owners need to erect barbed wire fences. Some ranchers use plain wire without barbs, and built in such a way that wildlife can easily migrate through without damaging themselves or the fence. The spaces in between the strands of wire are wide enough so that young elk calves, fawns and bear cubs can easily slip through, and no barbed wire at the top means that adult elk, deer and bears can safely jump over.

I hope that ranchers who will be building new fences this spring will also make them wildlife friendly. I also hope others will replace their old barbed wire fences with plain wire. We should check our properties often and remove old wire and anything else dangerous to wildlife. After all, here in the Kootenays we are world renowned for our wildlife. Let’s hope nobody else will have to see what I saw last Thursday on Highway 3/93.

Kay Herrmann

Cranbrook