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Elk Herd Suffering Growing Pains: Ban on Animal Imports Blocks One Way for State to Fix Female Shortage

Posted on: Saturday, 11 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Bruce Henderson, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Feb. 11--An experiment to return elk to the N.C. mountains they roamed 200 years ago could be in trouble because the herd isn't growing and North Carolina bans importing more of the animals.

A captive-grown herd first released in Great Smoky Mountains National Park five years ago has become a tourist draw. Visits to their turf, the Cataloochee Valley, have doubled.

But the herd of about 52 elk hasn't grown.

"We really need more animals," said Kim DeLozier, the park's chief wildlife biologist. "More animals on the ground give us more confidence about what to expect in the future."

The park wants to bring in up to 30 more elk from Kentucky. Biologists say the expansion would offer a truer picture of the herd's long-term prospects.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, which banned imports of captive deer and elk in 2002, is wary. It worries that imported animals will carry chronic wasting disease, a fatal ailment that has popped up among wild deer in 14 states.

Elk at Kentucky's Land Between the Lakes national recreation area, from which additions to the Smokies herd would come, are suspect because they're closer to a disease outbreak six months ago in West Virginia, the commission says. Smokies biologists say the Kentucky herd is closely monitored for disease.

"We're going to do what's prudent," said commission executive director Richard Hamilton.

He will ask commission members next month to let him waive the ban in some cases. But he sets a high bar: proof that imports won't be risky and are essential to the herd's survival.

The Cataloochee herd is healthy but at a reproductive stalemate, park biologists say.

"It just happens that the luck of the draw has gone against us in the first few years of the program," said Joe Clark, a federal biologist leading the research.

Twists of fate have delivered more male than female calves, reducing the number of future breeders. More young females than males have died.

Brain worms, a common parasite, have killed some of the adults. Because of the herd's small size, Clark said, the loss of a couple of adult females puts a dent in growth.

That leaves the options of increasing the herd or waiting several more years to see if the sex ratios even out.

DeLozier said the park service will be asked to extend the elk-introduction test, intended to last five years, for two to three years before deciding its fate.

Hamilton isn't so sure more elk will help. The park might do more to protect the existing herd, he said, such as controlling the coyotes and bears that feed on young elk.

"If it's not absolutely essential," he said, "let's wait until more information is known about chronic wasting disease."

Where to See Elk in the Smokies

Most of the elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are in the Cataloochee area in the park's southeastern section.

Take Interstate 40 to Exit 20. After 0.2 mile, turn right onto Cove Creek Road. Follow signs 11 miles to Cataloochee Valley.

Watch elk only from a distance, with binoculars. Elk are larger than the park's black bears, and can be dangerous.

SOURCE: National Parks Service, www.nps.gov

Bruce Henderson: (704) 358-5051.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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