(AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission recently placed tracking collars on 11 elk in north-central Nebraska to better determine the population and to track the animals.

The state hired a helicopter animal capture crew to tranquilize and place GPS tracking collars and ear tags on the animals.

A bull, two cows and a female calf were collared near the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge on Friday. Later that day, a bull and six cows near Bassett were tagged and collared.

At Fort Niobrara, biologists are using the data to determine if there are enough elk in the area to warrant hunting on the refuge.

Six elk in that region received collars by the same process in 2013.