A FREE Daily Visitor Guide for the North Carolina Mountains and 50+ NC Mountain Cities: The Call of the Wild

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The Call of the Wild

To do: Listen to the bull elk bugle during mating season

When/Where: Now in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fall rut is in full swing and there has been plenty of excitement within GSMNP herd so far! The attraction of watching, and listening to, the elk has brought more visitors into the park, says the ranger. While there are elk both in the Cataloochee Valley, and the Oconaluftee areas, it sounds like Cataloochee is the place to head if elk are on your wildlife checklist. The Elk were re-introduced into the park in 2001 and with 16 surviving calves this year the herd total now is 110 with 55 female and 45 male. There is potential for elk-human conflicts that could result in serious injury to humans or contribute to the demise of an elk so visits to the area should always follow Park guidelines. Read more...

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