Q: A few years ago a herd of elk were transported from the western United States and released in the Smoky Mountains National Park. Were they able to adapt? Has there been an increase in the herd size?
–Bill Lewis, Lawrenceville
A: The National Park Service began a program to reintroduce the once-native elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001, when it released 25 elk into Cataloochee Valley in western North Carolina. Those North American elk came from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along the western Kentucky-Tennessee border. A year later, a second batch of 27 elk, from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada, joined the first group, bringing the total number of elk transplants in the park to 52.
By August 2014, the elk herd in the park had more than tripled to an estimated 150-200 animals, according to a Knoxville News Sentinel report. Most of the elk remain in the Cataloochee Valley area; however, a smaller herd of about 20 have migrated to the fields near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center around Cherokee, N.C.
“For the first eight years, the project was experimental and biologists closely monitored the herd with radio collars,” the News Sentinel reported. “Now that the elk are well-established, the park only monitors a representative sample to keep track of disease, reproduction and dispersal.”
An elk’s lifespan is about 15 years, and once they are 2 years old, elk cows can give birth to one new calf every year, according to www.yoursmokies.com.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Keith Still contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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