Combining the agility of a running back, the speed of a wide receiver and a willingness to brandish a streamer-strewn hockey stick, Parks Canada wardens have been fielding their best ‘elk kidnappers’ in the park during the past two weeks.

The wardens have conducted about 24 ‘scoop and run’ exercises during the past two weeks in an effort to remove the animals from the townsite and local hotels. The moves are necessary to prevent the elk from making a home near human settlements. Elk tend to return to their birth sites, and mother elk are quite aggressive during calving season.

Working in teams of three, the crews respond to reports of newly born elk near hotels or other buildings near the townsite. Two of the wardens are given elk sticks, which are hockey sticks with streamers attached. The streamers make a noise that startles the elk, and allows the wardens to  startle the mother elk.

Using an elk call (a squeeking noise) that simulates the sound of an elk calf, the crew lure the mother away from her baby. 

“We clear the area and see where the calf is stashed,” said Human/Wildlife conflict specialist Wes Bradford.

Then the play begins. Once the mother is far enough away, one warden quickly runs to the calf, scoops it up over his or her shoulder and begins to run toward a protected area. 

“You pick it up and run like heck,” Bradford said.

The other wardens must then play defence, buying the runner time until he can drop the calf in a suitable location.

“They play defence. Sometimes they have to tap the mother elk on the nose, but we’ve never had a warden get hurt,” Bradford said.

The elk calves typically weigh between 20 and 25 lbs, and the move takes about half an hour on average, Bradford said. Security staff at the hotels frequently help with the procedure, clearing the area or playing defence.

While the technique is invasive, it has proven to be the best way to move elk away from the townsite, Bradford said. Park wardens have been using the technique for more than 20 years, Bradford said.

“There’s a better chance for abandonment if we tranquilize the mother,” Bradford said.

While some elk mothers immediately take to their calves again, others need some coaxing.

“Some are quick and take 15 minutes, but we had another that took an hour and a half to move 500 metres,” Bradford said. “Sometime you have to drop the calf and let the mother bond with it again.”

While the scoop and run exercise has cooled down for now, Parks is expecting another bout of births next week.

Anyone who encounters an aggressive elk is asked to report it to Parks Canada.