Elk (aka Wapiti)

Description:

Large cervids with light brown fur. Mothers and calves feeding on grasses.

Habitat:

Elk and bison prairie at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky.

Notes:

These large mammals once freely roamed the prairies and forests of Tennessee. They have been re-introduced to east Tennessee where they once again are free to roam. The group photographed here belong to a captive population in the Elk & Bison Prairie (EBP). The EBP is a restoration of a native habitat lost more than a century ago. Elk and bison have been reintroduced to this area and roam freely within a 700-acre enclosure. Numerous other wildlife species also thrive in the prairie, such as wild turkeys, a variety of birds, small game, and prairie mammals.