[Mike]

id=1&display=rednews/2004/04/03/build/wyoming/90-wyo-digest.inc
April 3, 2004

RAWLINS – The number of elk that have died from eating poisonous
lichen has risen to 311.

Seven dead elk were found in the Red Rim area over the past week,
according to Joe Nemick, a wildlife manager with the Wyoming Game and
Fish Department.

Nemick expects a few more carcasses to be found over the next few
weeks because researchers have been unable to search the entire 50-
square mile area where the elk have been afflicted.

The first sick and dead elk were found in early February. Researchers
believe the elk ate lichen that caused them to weaken and fall,
leaving them unable to eat or drink and vulnerable to predators.

“Why it hasn’t been a problem in past years, I don’t know,” Nemick
said.