RETURN TO ARKANSAS - ELK IN THE WILD
Interested in viewing elk in the wild? Now you can see wild elk photographs online and find out where to spot elk in Arkansas.
As the largest species of mammal currently found in Arkansas, elk is one of the state's most sought-after animals among wildlife enthusiasts, both for viewing and photography.
Elk once lived throughout much of the U.S., but shrinking habitat and over-hunting reduced them to a few herds in the nation's western, mountainous regions. The eastern elk (Cervus elaphus Canadensis), the subspecies native to Arkansas, became extinct in the late 1800s. In 1933, the U.S. Forest Service restocked Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) into Franklin County and the herd persisted into the mid-1950s before disappearing.
Between 1981 and 1985, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission released 112 western elk in Newton County near the Buffalo National River. Though elk in Arkansas have subsequently been observed in 14 counties, most of the estimated 450 to 500 members of the species now believed to inhabit the state occur in Newton and Searcy Counties on National Park Service land along the Buffalo's upper and middle sections. The commission, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and private interests are all engaged in efforts to maintain and expand suitable elk habitat within Arkansas.
VIEWING LOCATIONS
The most reliable place to view elk in Arkansas in Arkansas is the Buffalo National River, a National Park Service site. They can commonly be seen in Boxley Valley along Ark. 43 and Ark. 21 and are often observed in the vicinity of the Erbie campground. Elk in Arkansas may also be seen along roads leading east and west from the Ark. 7 bridge at Pruitt and in fields near the Ark. 123 bridge at Carver.
Habitat enhancement in the 18,220-acre Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission site that borders the southern edge of the national river, has improved the chance of seeing elk in the wild grazing in fields there. A descriptive narrative on the site and a map are available on-line (both in .pdf format) from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
PLEASE NOTE: When viewing elk and other wildlife be respectful of private property and do not trespass.
INFORMATION STATIONS
Elk information and a Buffalo National River brochure with map are available year-round at the National Park Service's Tyler Bend Visitor Center located 11 miles north of Marshall via on U.S. 65 and from March to September at the Pruitt Ranger Station located five miles north of Jasper on Ark. 7 (phone the station at 870-446-5373 ahead of visit due to varying hours).
Information and exhibits on elk in the wild and other Arkansas wildlife are available at the Ponca Elk Education Center, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission interpretive center (ph. 870- 861-2432) with free admission that is located across from the U.S. Post Office on Ark. 43 in Ponca, and at the Hilary Jones Wildlife Museum and Elk Information Center (ph. 870-446-6180), which is also free and is located on Ark. 7 about a half-mile north of Jasper.
ADDITIONAL LINKS