Virginia Elk Tour

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Cwalker935

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Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
3,506
Location
Richmond, Va
So Virginia has been working to re-establish an elk herd in Virginia. One of the State Parks offers elk tours and I arranged to take my wife, sister, brother-in-law, Mom and Dad on the tour. Before the tour, We asked Dad how many elk did he expect to see and he predicted 25. How many did we see- 25. Dad was so excited that he skipped his naps today. We ate dinner on top of the mountain and watched the sun set. Pretty special day.

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Woodchipper

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Mar 15, 2017
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5,122
Location
Cleveland, TN
Tennessee and North Carolina have a small population of elk now. I was surprised to learn, while preparing for a Hunter Education class, that the buffalo (actually a bison) ranged from northern Florida to eastern Pennsylvania to the Rocky Mountain, from Canada to the lower Great Plains. Elk were close to the same areas. Remember the opening scene of The Last of the Mohicans? Way far east in the colonial frontier.
Want to get to the Cataloochee Valley, NC so see them in the spring.
 

Cwalker935

Member
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
3,506
Location
Richmond, Va
Tennessee and North Carolina have a small population of elk now. I was surprised to learn, while preparing for a Hunter Education class, that the buffalo (actually a bison) ranged from northern Florida to eastern Pennsylvania to the Rocky Mountain, from Canada to the lower Great Plains. Elk were close to the same areas. Remember the opening scene of The Last of the Mohicans? Way far east in the colonial frontier.
Want to get to the Cataloochee Valley, NC so see them in the spring.

Some of the roads and rail lines followed the buffalo trails in this area. The buffalo apparently new the good routes. It's hard to believe that buffalo, elk, wolves and mountain lions once populated the east. Unfortunately, the eastern elk are extinct, they were browsers not grazers like the western elk. The Virginia elk are imported western elk and stay close to their food source. The preserve is located on a reclaimed strip mine that has been planted with differing grasses so that the elk have a year round food source. If interested in seeing the Virginia elk here is a link for the tours:

Elk Tours for 2017 | Breaks Park
 
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