Deer and elk herds are starting to pester farmers in Idaho.
As dead of winter sets in for many western states, deer and elk are suddenly finding themselves unable to find the natural forages they depend on in other months of the year.
And, as might be predicted, they are starting to head into lower areas, where farmers are getting ticked they are munching up their hay.
"Winter time is a tough time, they come in with the groceries on their back, so what they were able to eat in summer and fall is the condition they go into winter," Craig White, the Deer and Elk Program Coordinator for Fish and Game told KTVB.
As he told the station, it may not necessarily mean the animal is starving. They are probably just looking for the easiest meal with the least amount of work.
This kind of scene is likely repeating itself across the American west where the snows are high. I lived in Wyoming for a short while and got to see these types of hungry deer and elk herds first-hard before.
The farmers might not like it, but I sure got some spectacular deer and elk photos thanks to the animals entering civilization!
NEXT: SHORT FILM CAPTURES THE FUN AND FRUSTRATIONS OF AN OPEN-COUNTRY ELK HUNT
