Arizona wildlife officials say an elk rescued from a canal near Wellton last week is still in danger and can’t be returned to a more favorable environment.
Wellton Firefighters assisted Arizona Game and Fish with the rescue on June 30.
Elk are not usually found this far south, where summer temperatures top 100 degrees.
Chris Bedinger of the Arizona Game and Fish Department says the bull elk is probably lost. Bedinger says it can’t be transported because of the risk of chronic wasting disease, which leads to weight loss and death, and is contagious for other elk.
“The only option for us is to release the animal and hope that it makes its way back up north," Bedinger told KAWC. "As a policy, we don’t transport animals like elk or deer because of concerns of spreading CWD.”
Bedinger said officials will monitor the elk and hope it finds its way north.
