The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is investigating a dead bull elk recently found along the Current River in Shannon County.
According to MDC preliminary information, the elk appears to have been shot and the skull plate and antlers were removed with a chainsaw. The rest of the carcass was left intact.
MDC says conservation agents were informed of the dead elk on Tuesday by a hiker on an area along the Current River. MDC agents went to the location and confirmed the report.
According to a news release, MDC staff have transported the carcass to the Department’sConservation Research Center in Columbia for further investigation, including a necropsy, which is an autopsy of an animal.
MDC is seeking information that can help them in the investigation. Calls can be made to local MDC agents or to the Operation Game Thief hotline, 1-800-392-1111. Information can be given anonymously or a name maybe be given for a possible reward of up to $1,000 in the case of criminal activity.
According to MDC, the dead bull elk was one of approximately 130 animals that are part of the Department’s elk restoration and management efforts. The remaining elk can be seen at the Department’s Current River Conservation Area and Peck Ranch Conservation Area in the Missouri Ozarks. Learn more about Missouri’s elk at mdc.mo.gov/node/10141.
