Reading the old journals from the exploration period…you can hear the authors’ amazement in trying to describe the overwhelming abundance that once existed here. If you came across a flock of passenger pigeons numbering in the billions and as you watched them cross the sky like rolling smoke until they collectively blotted out the sun’s light how would you record the event? But it wasn’t just flocks, there were also forests of trees, immense herds of bison and schools of cod and salmon. In some cases, this was here less than two hundred years a go. Now this seems remote and out of our living memories. You don’t miss what you never knew. Forgetfulness is another type of erosion.
Over the sounds of the river smacking the shoreline, I could discern a few grunts among a high almost “metallic” bugling/whistling in the air. Or so I imagined as I introduce my latest Styrofoam creation. In the old days, (which according to my youngest son is anything over nine years a go) the American elk or Wapiti was plentiful in Kentucky and through out the United States. Several sub-species existed and were classified by geographic region and habitat. The bulls of this large deer with their immense antlered racks are an impressive sight and are symbolic of nature’s majesty. Well, mine is not nearly as good…but for the purposes of this post…will do fine!
We are lucky they are still with us today! As loss of habitat occurred as well as hunting pressures…our elk were driven westward until they were gone east of the Mississippi River. Eventually, the elk were allowed some federal protections and our herds are rebounding. Kentucky has led the way in elk conservation by experimentally transplanting a herd to the eastern section of the state where they have thrived! Their reintroduction has been so successful that a limited hunting season on them has been established.
During the Lewis and Clark trek across the country, elk meat made up a large percentage of the meat consumed. It remained the meat of choice until the native Americans introduced the explorers to dogs and then that was preferred! As the country was “settled”, elk continued to disappear from all kinds of pressures. There was even a brief fad where elk teeth were used for watch fobs!
The elk is a member of the megafauna that was once was a large part of the North American ecosystem. While I’m taking pictures of my sculpture, a smaller member of this ecosystem came hopping by. To be honest, I don’t see many frogs out here and I’m surprised this Leopard frog isn’t in a more boggy area. I think many people by now are aware that amphibians aren’t doing as well as they use to for a variety of reasons that range from climate change to exotic fungi. If a Great Blue Heron spots this guy, then our frog friend will become bird food. It’s as if life weren’t already difficult enough without adding to it.
The frog is a reminder that even the most humble of species plays its part in the bigger scheme of things. So often it seems that the smallest players have the out-sized roles that make the biggest differences to the smooth operation of life at large. My stag is bellowing and issuing a protest and challenge to protect the environment that sustains us all! There is far too much in the river that doesn’t belong there especially items dependent on crude oil.
Take this stag for instance, it is dependent on crude oil for its existence. The body, head, and parts of the leg are made from polystyrene. In this case it is all river-polished Styrofoam. The lower jaw is the sole of a shoe and also made from petrochemicals. The eyes and plastic collar are plastic and derived from petroleum extracts. Only parts of the nose, legs, antlers, and tail are biodegradable. The Styro-stag is an animal we can afford to lose and it will be interesting watching the river for signs that the exotic materials that comprise it are on the wane.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
Love the Styro stag! very animated sculpture – more of these! I wonder if elk meat is like venison (deer) that is very lean. I’ve never eaten dog,,,,but I already know which one I would prefer:)
Elk teeth for fob watches? how big were these teeth?!
I love reading old journals about travellers impressions of an area at times ago. We laugh when we hear an old person say ‘In my time – all this was green/land/desolate/ etc. Now we see these changes in our own lifetime (and its not evolution)
Good post Al!
Thanks Lynda, Our elk are indeed huge deer and not to be confused with the European elk which to us is called a moose. How’s that for confusion? Our elk I believe are the largest members of the red deer family. As for eating dogs…many cultures think this is good eating as did the Mandan people who sheltered Lewis and Clark during an especially bad winter. I used the Styro-stag as an excuse to muse about the “forgetting” that can happen so quickly. It’s probably a small miracle we remember anything at all that came before us.