PINEDALE -- When it comes to Mother Nature, sometimes things don’t go as planned.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials drove to the Fall Creek elk feedground Tuesday morning in anticipation of a second attempt to lure elk into a trap for capture, only to find the elk had already triggered the trap, complete with nearly 300 elk inside.

Exactly what happened remains a mystery, but the rope holding the trap gates open was severed, so the gates slammed shut, trapping the elk inside as they munched on hay that had been placed to bait them into the facility.

Tuesday’s effort was part of the third year of a "test-and-removal" pilot project for the Pinedale elk herd. The project was a key recommendation of the Governor’s Brucellosis Coordination Team, with the goal of reducing brucellosis rates in the elk herd, and reducing the risk of transmitting the disease from elk to cattle.

Elk have been trapped and tested for brucellosis at the Muddy Creek elk feedground near Boulder during the last two years, with the program expanding this year to Fall Creek. Brucellosis is a contagious disease that causes abortions in hooved animals.

This is the first time trapping efforts have taken place at Fall Creek, and the trapped elk were spooky and unsettled. With more than 20 bulls in the trap as well as cows and calves, the unruly mob injured several animals that later had to be destroyed. In total, five animals were euthanized due to trampling, goring or stress-related injury.

The bull elk were tranquilized and removed from the pen so the cows and calves could be safely processed through the chutes for brucellosis testing or release. Numerous spike bulls were processed through the chutes, and several of these animals fought restraint, kicking holes in the plywood portions of the trap and otherwise helping to loosen things that needed to stay tight. One portion of the trap collapsed under pressure, but no animals or humans were injured.

With temperatures hovering near a high of about 10 degrees, the crew working the elk had cold fingers, but at least there wasn’t a ground blizzard like the one that hit the region the day before.

Blood samples were taken from all 187 adult female elk, and these cows were being held overnight in the trap until results of the tests were known. Animals that test positive for brucella antibodies will be sent to slaughter, while those that test negative will be released back onto the feedground.

In the first two years of the five-year program, a total of 71 elk were removed, with the meat donated to charity.

Another problem arose when it was realized that the blood samples were ready to be transported to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory in Laramie, but roads between here and there were closed due to winter weather. Late in the afternoon, a crew left with the blood samples, planning to get to Laramie via Casper and other alternate routes.