The Michigan State Police are warning motorists on Interstate 75 in Otsego County to use extra caution because of numerous elk crossing traffic lanes into the median on Sunday, March 1.
Police said at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday that there have not been any reported crashes, but warned that an elk “herd” is apparently crossing over the northbound lanes to reach the median.
The elk have been seen in the area of Winters Road, which is south of Vanderbilt and north of Gaylord.
Elk are far larger than the typical whitetail deer, weighing up to 900 pounds.
Vanderbilt and Gaylord are the center of Michigan’s elk herd.
Michigan’s Pigeon River Country State Forest is home to one of the largest free-roaming elk herds east of the Mississippi, according to the Michigan DNR.
About 1,000 elk live in the elk range of southern Cheboygan, Otsego and Montmorency counties.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Police warn of elk on I-75. Where herd could lead to crashes
Reporting by Dan Basso, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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