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Elk crushed by falling hay at east Idaho management area

| April 16, 2020 1:00 AM

A group of elk died after being crushed by hay bales at an eastern Idaho wildlife management area.

A witness reported that 16 elk were found dead at the Tex Creek Wildlife Management Area east of Twin Falls.

Sometime during the winter the elk busted through the high fence protecting the hay stacks and ate out the bottom of the haystack, causing the rest of the stack to destabilize and collapse, according to Idaho Fish and Game.

“The elk … appear to have been crushed by the falling one ton bales or trampled to death by other elk,” according to a Fish and Game press release.

The hay storage yard contained hay left over from IDFG feeding operations conducted on the 34,000-acre management area where 3,500 elk sought refuge after the Henry’s Creek fire. - Ralph Bartholdt