Cowichan Valley Elk project

Elk in conflict…

Elk in the Cowichan Valley have increased in number over the past decade and this has resulted in elk-human conflict, particularly through crop depredation. We are investigating the patters of space use by elk to determine if there are trends in where and when elk come into conflict with agriculture. We have built audio and light playback devices that are triggered by remote cameras to test the degree of habituation in these elk and determine whether predator or human cues might be useful management techniques for reducing conflict.

I am investigating elk-human conflict in a couple of ways:

• Abundance and spatial-temporal patterns of use of agricultural land

• Testing habituation with playback devices

• Traffic incidents

This work is being done in collaboration with:

• Colleen C. St. Clair

• Kate Rutherford