Town Outraged at Killing of Friendly Bull Elk by Poacher
Felicia Cowan cried when she heard that Sampson the bull elk and town mascot had been shot by a poacher with a crossbow.
“At night we’d look at him and he’d look at us and we could just enjoy his beauty,” Cowan said.
Cowan joined about 125 people who jammed into the Municipal Center on Thursday night, demanding punishment for the poacher who killed Sampson at the YMCA Estes Park Center last weekend.
Residents said killing local elk and deer, who have grown accustomed to humans, is like shooting animals in a zoo.
A 35-year-old businessman suspected of killing Sampson has not been identified or charged. A wildlife investigator said the man had no hunting license.
Wildlife officer Rick Spowart said fines against illegal hunters range from $100 to $100,000 for the killing of a bighorn sheep, considered a trophy item.
“I told the suspect he picked the worst elk in Estes Park to kill,” Spowart said.
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