ShareThisThe family spent months searching winding back roads, following his tracks.
"Last winter, I bet we spent clean up through March ... looking for it," Sharon Richter said.
The missing elk that last year wandered off the Richters' 121-acre farm in Aleppo, Pa., has turned up in West Virginia, and the two states' wildlife officials can't agree on whether it can go home.
The 3-year-old elk escaped the farm on Jan. 4 when a friend accidentally left the gate open, Richter said. Last November, the Richters got word that the elk had moved across state lines, about 17 miles away in Pleasant Valley, W.Va.
The elk is roaming around there and being fed by locals, said Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Samantha Krepps. West Virginia Department of Natural Resources officials wanted it returned to Aleppo, but Pennsylvania agriculture department officials have denied that request.
"We told them, no, they couldn't bring the animal back," Krepps said.
At issue is the potential for chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious and fatal neurological disease that attacks and creates holes in an animal's brain. It has been reported in West Virginia and two others states that border Pennsylvania: Maryland and New York.
"We're CWD-free and we really want to keep it that way," Krepps said.
Chronic wasting disease is not known to be harmful to humans, but it can linger in the environment even after an animal has left, leaving members of the deer family at risk. "So this animal that has escaped and been on the run" could have been susceptible to spreading the disease, said Gerald Feaser of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Similar to mad cow disease, animals with chronic wasting disease act lethargic, have droopy eyes, salivate excessively and are often found near water. The injuries may also mimic rabies, so most people couldn't recognize the wasting disease specifically, Feaser added.
The only way to detect the disease is by testing the animal's brain or lymph nodes, done by removing the animal's head.
The elk, a local celebrity, now has a legion of supporters online. More than 160 people "liked" the "Save the Pleasant Valley Elk" page on Facebook.
(Contact Molly Born at mborn(at)post-gazette.com.)
Must credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
