Elk herd falls through ice, die in reservoir in western Wyoming



JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Wildlife officials say more than 30 elk died after they fell through the ice on Palisades Reservoir, which straddles the Wyoming-Idaho border.

Tim Fuchs, a regional supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide (http://goo.gl/aZdTlF ) the elk crashed through the ice March 21 near where the Snake and Greys rivers meet at the southeast corner of the reservoir. The elk were later pulled to the shore.

Fuchs says a warden counted 31 dead elk — 25 on the Idaho side and the rest on the Wyoming side. But he noted there were likely more dead elk that drifted off.

Elk and other ungulates occasionally break through ice-capped waters and drown, but rarely in such large numbers.