West Virginia lost two members of its recently reintroduced elk herd after a cow and a calf crossed a highway median and were struck and killed by an ambulance struck. It happened in the western part of the state during the overnight hours south of Logan.
“We anticipated that potential. It’s one of those unavoidable things if we’re going to restore elk in West Virginia,” Randy Kelley, Division of Natural Resources wildlife biologist, told the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
The cow was part of the restoration effort and its calf was born earlier this spring.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation assisted with the successful elk reintroduction in December of 2016. Plans are in the works to reintroduce 60 more elk from Arizona this winter.
No patients were in the ambulance and the workers inside were not hurt.
(Photo source: WSAV-TV)