Page 81 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2019 PORTUGAL

Our tour’s highlight was a sleigh ride through
the National Elk Refuge, a 25,000-acre
preserve for about 8,000 of these magnificent
beasts. Our sleigh was a big cart that held
about a dozen passengers and was drawn by
two horses. Our driver guided the sleigh
around the elk, who relaxed in the snow
waiting for winter to pass. As we circled, a
clique of stags formed a line and marched in a
procession in the direction of Grand Teton peak.
Jackson Hole is a valley bracketed by high
peaks and this valley has served as a winter
destination for elk for hundreds of years.
Deep snow and fierce cold deprive the elk of
food in their summer range in the high
mountains, so they descend the heights in
search of a more hospitable winter habitat.
They still come to Jackson Hole despite a
growing human population, and in 1912 the
federal government established the
sanctuary to protect elk and other species.
Here the animals congregate until spring,
when they leave the valley and follow the
snow line back to their mountain homes. The
National Fish and Wildlife Service manages
the refuge and feeds the elk if there is not
enough natural forage.

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