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Oh deer, loose moose tests its mettle in the river

Crowds gather along the banks of the Animas River Sept. 25 to watch a bull moose standing in the waters just downstream from the Ninth Street bridge.

We’ve all heard of tourists asking, “At what elevation do deer turn into elk?” Given last week’s surprise animal appearance in the Animas River, there’s a new question: “At what elevation of heavy metals do deer turn into moose?” Just curious. – Bull Winkle

When too many toxins get in the water, strange things happen. Just ask the folks in southern Idaho about the two-headed brown trout.

You might recall the uproar. A couple years ago, a mine operator insisted that extremely high selenium levels downstream from its phosphate mine weren’t harming wildlife.

So the company commissioned a study that included photos of deformed fish, including the dual-noggin brownie.

Why would a mine owner publish images of mutant fish in a document advocating for more pollution?

The company wanted to illustrate that mutations occur naturally, so it included shots of deformed fish from waters below the Smokey Canyon Mine along with trout bred in untainted waters.

As it turns out, the two-headed frankenfish came from Wyoming hatchery stock.

But no one cares about that. All anyone remembers is the two-headed trout.

Which brings us to the moose on the loose. Could nasty mine contaminants alter the genetic makeup of a large mammal?

Action Line checked around, starting with those who released the toxins in the first place, the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA’s “Gold King Mine Release” website has a section on impacts to wildlife. (Don’t you love that they call it a “release?”)

It looks like wildlife dodged the proverbial bullet. Initial results are “promising” and “encouraging,” and “no effects were seen on terrestrial animals.”

Action Line was skeptical. A call was placed to the EPA’s press office in Washington, D.C

“Hello, EPA. Could one of your experts determine if deer could turn into moose after wading in the Animas River? Thanks.”

The EPA will get back with Action Line on that one.

Coincidentally, Mrs. Action Line happened to be doing a quick errand and ran into a real expert, professor Gary Gianniny, chairman of Fort Lewis College’s department of geosciences.

She asked Gary if he knew what would cause a deer to turn into a moose.

“Bovine growth hormone, obviously,” Gary replied with a laugh.

It’s an intriguing theory. However, when looking over the EPA’s thousand-row spreadsheet on daily water sampling, “dairy products” isn’t one of the substances they’re testing for.

Some people consider the uproar over Animas River as crying over spilled milk, which could contribute to concentrations of bovine growth hormone. But few are cowed into believing it.

So that leaves the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to end the specious species speculation. Division spokesman Heath Kehm was certain the Animas River moose wasn’t a trans-genus deer.

“We know of no level of toxins that could be a species-changing agent,” he deadpanned, and then added an interesting twist to the question.

If anyone asks about deer turning into elk or deer turning into moose, you can say they already are.

Biologically speaking, deer, elk and moose are members of the “deer family” or cervids.

And to really confuse things, animal names are interchangeable depending on geography.

In Europe, “elk” refers to the critter we call a “moose.” It also doesn’t help that the European “red deer” is considered the same thing as North America’s elk.

Whatever you call the critter, one thing is certain: Wading in the tainted Animas River tests the mettle of a deer/moose/elk. At least it didn’t have two heads – yet.

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you’ve ever been asked why the ancestral Puebloans built Mesa Verde so far from the highway.



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