Saturday, August 14, 2010

Impala and Elk

Impala and Cheetah
"The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won’t get much sleep."
                                                        - Woody Allen

This story from the Daily Mail of a trio of cheetahs making friends with a young impala is touching.  Fortunately they had just finished dinner.



Elk Restoration in Missouri?
"This ridge appears to be a favourite haunt for elk and bear, which have been frequently seen in our path. The enormous size of the horns of the elk give that animal an appearance of singular disproportion, but it has a stately carriage, and in running, by throwing up its head, brings the horns upon its back, which would otherwise incommode, if not entirely stop, its passage through a thicket."
While this may sound like a passage from Lewis and Clark's journals or an early description of Yellowstone, it is from Missouri.  The date was November 19, 1818 and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was traveling along the North Fork River.
Now there is interest in reestablishing elk in this area of the state.  You can learn more from this MDC site.