Elk poisoned by Yew Tree at Warrenton, Dec. 23

A half-a-dozen elk died after they ate parts of a Yew Tree on the North Oregon Coast. Their carcasses were found Friday, Dec. 13, on the property of a cemetery in the Warrenton area. There were no signs of being shot by an arrow or bullet. The Oregon Department of Wildlife was notified. The elk were taken to an Oregon State University Diagnostic Lab near Corvallis for a necropsy. It was determined they died from eating English Yew, a popular conifer imported from Europe and used for landscaping. However, the entire plant is poisonous, according to a botany instructor at OSU. The elk were part of a herd of 40-50 that roam Clatsop County.