Return of the elk

Elk once again are roaming in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Native to the southern Appalachians, elk vanished 150 years ago, victims of loss of habitat and over hunting. Six years ago the National Park Service released two dozen of the second largest member of the deer family into the park by the Tennessee/North Carolina border. The following year another 27 elk were added to the herd. In 2006, the herd numbered 65 to 70 animals, with at least 13 calves born.

Still in its experimental stages, the re-introduction of elk may be halted if they intrude on areas outside the park, cause significant damage to the park, or conflict with park visitors. 

Through the use of radio collars, park service biologists track the animals. Two newborn calves were lost to black bears a year ago. One bull was hit by a car and had to be euthanized. Two others died in 2006 from unknown causes. 

Seeing an elk in a visit to the park is a matter of being in the right place at the right time -- and a bit of luck. The herd largely roams in the Cataloochee Valley in the southeast corner of the 520,269 acre park. Recently, however, individual elk have been spotted to the south and west of Cataloochee, in Oconaluftee and the Cherokee Indian Reservation.

Visitors to remote Cataloochee Valley are still the most likely to be rewarded with elk sightings, especially in the spring when the animals move from the dense mountain forests to the open valleys for grazing. Best time to catch a glimpse is very early morning or early evening in the spring. Elk are harder to spot in the heat of the summer when they retreat to the shady woods, but they are sometimes spotted after a thunderstorm or on an overcast day.

We didn't have to wait long or go far to see them when we visited Cataloochee Valley in late April.

Just a mile or so from the campground on an overcast afternoon, we spotted about three bucks grazing in the meadow of the preserved historic villages of Big and Little Cataloochee. Slowly and silently, nine other elk made their way from the pine forest to join  the first three in grazing. The elk seem unconcerned about our presence, which is a good thing. With their radio-collars and ear tags, they look like oversized domestic cows. But the park service warns visitors that elk are wild animals. Male elk weigh up to 1,000 pounds, while females top out at 650 pounds, making them the park's largest animals. It also makes a human-elk encounter likely to result in injuries to the human.

In the spring, females may be protecting calves and may regard humans who get too close as predators. Males may regard people as threats to their domain. Males will use their size and their sizeable antlers to challenger intruders. And they can run a lot faster than you can. So it's wise to heed the park service advice and keep a safe distance, viewing the herd with binoculars or telephoto lenses.

To see the elk grazing is to imagine, just for a moment, what the Smoky Mountains were three hundred years ago. I hope someday to return to Cataloochee Valley in the fall to hear the impressive trumpeting mating calls of the males.