Extracted from the Gazette 3/23/04


Wyoming elk deaths linked to lichen acid


Denver_ The lichen did it. Wildlife officials said Monday an acid in lichen led to the mysterious deaths of more than 300 elk in southern Wymoning since early February. They said they were not sure why.

A hunter found two elk partly paralyzed Feb. 8 near Rawlins, about 150 miles west of Cheyenne. during the following weeks hundreds more were found in an area of about 50 square miles. Most were euthanized; others died of starvatiion or dehydration.

Experts initially speculated a toxic plant -- or one made toxic by drought --could be the fault.

Atutopsies of the effected elk found a lichen called permelia in digestive systems. Biologists gathered lichen last week from the area where the elk were found and fed it to captive elk at a research center. Cook said after a week one of them came down with the syptoms "identical to the ones we saw in the field." the wildlife experts said usinc acid in plants appeared to have broken down the animals' muscle tissue.

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See original story posted on this Blog March 7th, 2004