302 TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



present time. One elk has been shot at Newcomb, whether maliciously 

 or accidentally has not been ascertained, though Commissioner Whipple 

 and Mr. Radford have offered a reward of $100 for the detection of the 

 culprit. 



Meanwhile, the elk in all sections of the Adirondacks have increased 

 satisfactorily. The large elk herds which formerly were concentrated in the 

 vicinity of Little Tupper Lake, in Hamilton county, have split up into 

 small bands, some of which have been seen recently on Cold river in Essex 

 county, in the Fulton Chain section of Herkimer county, and at many other 

 points widely separated. Game Protector Ned Ball, of Old Forge, has 

 traced the course of three elk from Forked Lake, in northern Hamilton 

 county, to a point south of Woodhull Lake, in Herkimer county, a distance 

 of nearly ioo miles by the route followed, which will give an idea of the wide 

 area over which the Adirondack elk are ranging. 



A conservative estimate of the present number of elk in the Adirondacks 

 would probably be 350. Believing that the annual increase since the 

 experiment of restocking the Adirondacks was commenced is of general 

 interest, the table appearing in the last report is here reproduced, revised 



to date: 



Number of Wild Elk in the Adirondacks. 



On December 3 1 , 1901 22 



On December 31, 1902 (estimated) 80 



On December 31, 1903 (estimated) 168 



On December 31, 1904 (estimated) 200 



On December 31, 1905 (estimated) 250 



On December 31, 1906 (estimated) 350 



Mr. Radford states that he has the promise of an additional herd of elk 

 for liberation in the Adirondacks next spring. The Commission again 

 invites sportsmen of means who are interested in the State's effort to rein- 

 troduce the elk, moose, and beaver in its Adirondack forests, to make 

 donations of any of these animals to the Commission, which will provide 

 for their immediate liberation on public land. 



