WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT -- At least 59 calf elk in the Idaho Panhandle have being captured by helicopter netters, fixed with GPS collars and released in the past few weeks as biologists continue research that will help determine how elk die.

A total of 169 cow and calf elk have been collared as the study heads into its third year, says Phil Cooper, state Fish and Game Department spokesman in Coeur d'Alene.

The collars enable researchers to monitor the elk movements by satellite and determine habitat use as well as when, where and how they might be killed.

"The study area includes big game Units 4, 6 and 7," Cooper said. "The most recent capture work was completed in the Silver Valley, the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River and the St. Joe River."

"A unique signal is produced if a collar is stationary for 4 hours, tipping biologists off that there may be a dead elk," Cooper said. "In that event, the collar can be located as soon as possible and biologists can often, but not always, determine the cause of death."

Of the elk captured in 2014 and 2015, the annual cow survival rate has been 89 percent.  Calf survival has been 68 percent.

"New technology, such as the use of GPS collars, has changed wildlife management over time," Cooper said. "New equipment and techniques have enabled better data collection and a better understanding of what is actually happening outside in all kinds of weather in both daylight and dark, all year long."