Taxidermist restores historic Montana elk mounts

HAMILTON, Mont. — By the turn of the 20th century elk populations in North America were at desperately low levels.

Years of unregulated hunting had decimated elk numbers.

But there was a healthy population of elk in Yellowstone National Park.

In 1912, a herd of elk from Yellowstone were transported to Hamilton.

Now mounts believed to be from the original Yellowstone elk are being celebrated at the new fire hall.

Taxidermist Kurt Kohn has restored the mounts of two of Hamilton’s most famous bull elk.

NBC Montana met the taxidermist at his shop where he showed us his work.

He restored one of the trophies in 1998.

He just completed the restoration of the second one.

Both bulls are believed to be important touchstones in modern elk populations.

“The elk were hunted to near extinction at the turn of the century,” said Kurt. “I had the rare privilege to restore one of the most historic elk in the United States, certainly in Montana but probably the United States as well. This is believed to be one of the original elk that were reintroduced to the Bitterroot Valley in 1912.”

To restock elk numbers in the valley, sportsmen and supporters initiated an ambitious effort in 1912 to transport dozens of elk from the park to Hamilton by train.

The first transport ended tragically when curious crowds stressed the already nervous elk.

“The first one was a failure,” said Kurt. ” A lot of the elk were killed due to a stampede and a crowd that was in Hamilton, Montana. It became a public spectacle.”

The next transport was successful.

“They let them go in the middle of the night,” said Kurt. ” Nobody else knew that it was happening other than the people involved in the reintroduction.”

The elk were held in an enclosure at the Bitter Root Stock Farm to become acclimated,” said Kurt, “before being released into the wild.”

The animals dispersed to the east in the Sapphire Mountains and propagated new generations of elk.

Kurt said it’s believed the elk he remounted are likely forebears of the elk we see today.

Pointing to the new mount he said, “this elk is important because it’s a piece of history. Generally, all the elk in Montana are probably related to this elk in some way.”

“There’s likely to be a strong connection to this elk,” he said,” and the elk introduced in the Bitterroot to all of the elk in Montana, and around the United States.”

The trophies had been mounted at Hamilton’s old fire hall for as long as anyone can remember.

Those mounts were treasured by generations of firefighters.

But the force outgrew the historic building downtown, and moved to a new location across town.

Since then, both mounts have been in Kurt’s taxidermy shop, waiting for transport to the new fire hall.

Hamilton Fire Captain Travis Walker helped Kurt move the mounts from Kurt’s shop to their new home in the new fire hall.

Travis calls the mounts a “memento to the fire department.”

Moving the bulls from the taxidermy shop was a delicate process.

The men had to be careful to make sure the elk’s racks were protected.

They loaded both mounts into the pickup, securing the elk so they wouldn’t be jarred on the trip.

After arriving at the hall, Kurt wrote a dedication on the back of a mount.

“That will be here for the next hundred years,” he said.

The mounts were installed on the kitchen wall, where crews spend a lot of time.

The elk have been mascots to fire crews for well over a hundred years.

“The Bitterroot is known for its big game species of hunting and most of the guys on the fire department are big hunters as well,” said Travis. “They would be our mascots. They’re part of our heritage of being firemen and the hunting part of the Bitterroot. “

Kurt said we don’t know exactly what happened to these elk, whether they were harvested in a hunt or died by other means.

The only parts of the mount that are original are the antlers and the skull plate.

Kurt’s son Kameron Kohn provided the cape for one of the elk.

It came from his successful bow hunting trip.

“I think it’s a really cool way to be able to honor the history of elk in the Bitterroot Valley,” said Kameron. ” It’s a great way to honor the memory of that hunt with me and my wife. It came from a similar sized bull and it’s a beautiful cape.”

“I think they needed to move with their fire people,” said Travis of the mounts, “They were lonely.”

Now, the Yellowstone bull elk are finally home, to be cherished at Hamilton Fire Department headquarters.