Courtesy Photo

ROGERS CITY — The bull elk that has called Rogers City home during the fall the last two years was euthanized by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday, Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan said.

DNR Conservation Officer Paul Fox said he was unable to speak about why and how the decision was made to kill the wild animal that had become a beloved member of the Rogers City community.

The love for the animal led residents to affectionately name the elk Roger after the city he vacationed at in the autumn.

Local officials said they did not make the decision to put the animal down.

McLennan said over the last few weeks, a few people had gotten dangerously close to the wild animal and it was becoming more aggressive. He said the city didn’t receive any reports of people being charged at or attacked, but some people had reported the elk showing signs of being unafraid of humans and approaching them.

“A vast majority of people gave Roger a large buffer zone, but there were some who got too close,” he said. “I feel bad that it came to this and the residents are upset. He had become a member of our community and it was just an overall unique situation.”

McLennan said the elk was also entering the rut and its temperament could have changed more, and the more people that approached the animal, the more likely something bad could have happened.

“Is a wild elk living in the city a good idea? Probably not,” he said. “But, we all felt special that Roger chose Rogers City, and it was special. It is sad.”

The elk first wandered away from its herd and entered the city limits last fall, but eventually left on its own. This fall, Roger was in no hurry to join back up with others of its own kind.

It was common for people to see the animal sleeping in residents’ back yards and basking in the sun along the shoreline of Lake Huron. People from out of the area made road trips to Rogers City hoping to see the elk and capture a photo of it.

Rogers City officials and the DNR had warned people that getting too close to the elk could become problematic and change its behavior.

“Roger was unique and we may never see anything else like this again,” McLennan said. “It was truly something amazing.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.