Elk herd growing pains

The elk herd in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, first reintroduced in 2001, continues to grow and expand its presence outside park borders. Though there’s no hard figure, the herd now likely numbers somewhere around 150, up from 52, with the animals turning up in the backyards or agricultural fields of area residents. 

Consequently, wildlife management agencies have joined forces to seek better ways to count and track the elk.

“It’s definitely gone from an experiment to a region-wide management issue,” said Joe Yarkovich, elk biologist for the park. 

Because the Appalachians’ dense tree cover makes it impossible to count elk using a flyover census as officials do out west, the park, together with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), is working to perfect a DNA sampling method for use on elk feces. 

An adaptation of an existing method, the technique would allow scientists to figure out which elk are related, who they’re hanging out with and which groups are interacting. Those results would lead to a greater understanding of how elk organize socially—without having to tarp or tranquilize the animals. 

“We’re busting our butts and wracking our brains,” said Justin McVey, a wildlife biologist with the NCWRC. “It’s going to be a long process.”