Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and ice rescue personnel clad in dry suits worked today to try to recover a dozen elk that died Tuesday after falling through the ice of a private lake in Otsego County.
“This is a very tragic and unfortunate event,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger. “Elk are an important species in Michigan’s successful conservation history. We are indebted to the conservation officers and hunting guides who tried to help in responding to this incident Tuesday afternoon.”
In all, the carcasses of three spike bull elk, five cows and three calves were recovered from the lake today. The remaining elk carcass was not found. The ice thickness measured 2 inches where the elk fell through, with the water about 50 feet deep.
The incident began at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when conservation officers were called by an elk-hunting guide who reported that 10-12 elk had fallen through the ice on Crapo Lake, which is a 92-acre lake located about 20 miles northeast of Grayling.
The guide said he, another guide and their hunting party had come to the lake’s private hunting property and sighted the elk about 100 yards from a main road. The hunters had been granted permission to be on the property.
“When the hunters arrived, they saw the elk headed down a slope and onto the ice, traveling approximately 75 to 100 yards out onto the ice,” said Sgt. Mark Depew of the DNR Law Enforcement Division. “The animals grouped up and broke through the ice.”
Conservation officers arrived about 30 minutes after receiving the call. They found the two hunting guides who reported the incident in a rowboat, attempting to cut an escape path through the ice for the elk with a chainsaw.
“The ice was approximately 5 to 6
