As any big game hunter or even wildlife enthusiast knows, spotting the target of your quandary can be nearly impossible at times. And yet, other days provide us with a glimpse so near miraculous that it stays with you for decades.
Fortunately for wildlife biologist Evan Phillips, it was the latter that took place last week while working near Montrose, Colorado.
If you weren’t aware, the state of Colorado is home to one of the largest populations of wild elk in the nation, estimated at around 280,000. For that reason, it’s an ideal location for those such as Phillips to do some valuable research in the hopes of one day understanding more about the species and its habitat.
In this case, Phillips and others in his field were taking part in what is called a “big game classification flight.” Basically, wildlife researchers look for ideal specimens using low-flying helicopters to place GPS collars on, hoping to better understand “calf survival and cause-specific mortality across different study areas in the state,” a press release put out by Colorado Parks and Wildlife noted.
The goal for this winter is to collar 75 elk calves and 120 pregnant cow elk.
It was during one of these flights that Phillips spotted a rare gem in the elk population: a piebald cow elk.
During a big game classification flight this week, Montrose area wildlife biologist Evan Phillips got a glimpse of a rare piebald cow elk! The piebald trait in elk occurs in about 1 out of every 100,000 animals. pic.twitter.com/5pFtvyd9RD
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) December 6, 2023
If you know much about this rare genetic trait, you know that white patches usually identify it – sometimes large ones – across darker skin pigmentations. The presence of the white patches can often lead those with an untrained eye to believe the animal is “albino,” another rare genetic mutation.
In elk populations, it is believed that only about 1 in 100,000 have this piebald trait, making it a rare find indeed. As I mentioned before, seeing just one of these more normal majestic creatures in the wild can be difficult to achieve – let alone a rarity such as this.
