Serum profiles of American Elk, Cervus elaphus, at the time of handling for three capture methods

American Elk (Cen us elaphus) are captured using a variety of techniques an d each may inflict various types of stress and/or injury that could affect animal well-being. We compared serum profiles of 25 free-ranging elk captur ed by helicopter net-gunning (n = 7), modified Clover traps (n = 7), and co rralling (n = II) in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Glucose, aspartate amin otransterase, and lactic dehydrogenase levels were higher in Clover-trapped elk than corralled or net-gunned elk. Potassium and creatinine kinase leve ls were higher in elk captured by corralling than elk captured by net-guns or Clover traps. Bilirubin was higher in Clover trapped and corralled elk c ompared to net-gunned elk. Our results suggest (1) techniques requiring les s time from capture to release (i.e., net-gunning) significantly reduce tis sue and muscle damage versus methods in which elk were confined for longer periods of time (i.e., Clover trapping and corralling), (2) limiting the ti me elk are restrained to < 24 hours in corrals may reduce muscle and tissue damage, (3) several serum parameters should be measured in order to obtain a complete description of elk response to capture and restraint.