MCCREARY COUNTY, Ky. — Kentucky wildlife officers are asking for help from the public after finding a bull elk poached in McCreary County.
According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, a department employee found a bull elk carcass near Middle Ridge Trail in the Beaver Creek Wildlife Management Area on Jan. 13. McCreary County is part of a 16-county elk zone in southeastern Kentucky where elk hunting is prohibited.
The department said biologists recognized the elk, saying it was among more than 40 elk that were translocated to the county last winter from other counties in the elk zone to establish the species where it had yet to establish itself.
Officers are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the poacher being convicted. Anyone with information is asked to call Kentucky State Police Post 11 in Loudon at 1-800-25-ALERT.
On Jan. 25, they said Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation also offered a $3,000 reward for information leading to the poacher being convicted. The new total reward was $5,500.