Mineral licks: motivational factors for visitation and accompanying disease risk at communal use sites of elk and deer.

Free-ranging cervids acquire most of their essential minerals through forage consumption, though occasionally seek other sources to account for seasonal mineral deficiencies. Mineral sources occur as natural geological deposits (i.e.

Elk use of wallows and potential chronic wasting disease transmission.

Deposition of prions into the environment by infected animals may contribute to transmission and spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) among free-ranging cervids, and identification of such environmental sources may provide an avenue for managing CWD. We evaluated the role that wallow use by elk (Cervus elaphus) may play in CWD transmission by monitoring wallows with animal-activated cameras throughout their period of use. We monitored 39 wallows from 5 August 2005 to 14 October 2005.

Meningeal worm in a reintroduced elk population in Kentucky.

Meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) has been implicated in the failure of several elk (Cervus elaphus) restoration attempts in the eastern United States. However, limited post-release monitoring and a paucity of published literature prevents a clear understanding of this parasite's role in past failures. During winters of 1997-2001, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources translocated 1,044 elk from western states to eastern Kentucky (USA) in an effort to restore a free-ranging population.