The Elk herd is estimated to number between 450 and 500 in the historic Boxley Valley area. Elk once numbered in the millions throughout North America, but because of over-hunting, natural mortality and shrinkage of suitable

grazing land, the herd in Arkansas once

disappeared. Because of the efforts of Newton County residents, the National Park Service and the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, the Elk are back in Arkansas along the Buffalo National River and surrounding counties.

History of Elk in Arkansas

  The eastern elk lived in eastern boreal and hardwood forests. This was the subspecies native to Arkansas, though historical records indicate it persisted no later than the 1840s. It is now extinct.

  One hundred years ago, elk roamed the mid-western plains and the southern mountain region, making their home in the grasslands as far south and east as northern Alabama. Settlers who discovered the rich lands in the mid-1800's pushed the elk westward into the rougher terrain of the Rockies, but today the big animals are making a comeback in at least one area of their former domain.

The U.S. Forest Service introduced Rocky Mountain Elk in Franklin County's Black Mountain Refuge in 133. Three bulls and eight cows from Wichita National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma were released. The population grew to 125 by 1948 and to an estimated 200 by the mid 1950s and then vanished. No one knows for sure what caused the elk to disappear. Some speculate that illegal hunting, natural mortality and shrinkage of suitable range through natural ecological succession eventually resulted in their extermination.

  In 1981, the Game & Fish Commission, in cooperation with private citizens and the National Park Service, initiated another Elk restoration project in the Ozark Mountains. Between 1981 and 1985, 112 Elk from Colorado and Nebraska were released at five sites near Pruitt.

  The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission made an agreement with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources in 1980 to trade Arkansas largemouth bass for Rocky Mountain Elk. The herd officially became known as the Hilary Jones Elk Herd in honor of a commission member who instigated the program. Jones was an avid Elk hunter who hoped to someday have a local season in Arkansas.

In March, 1981, the first trailer load of Colorado elk was delivered to Newton County. Over the next three years, several more loads were brought, along with seven elk that were a gift from a park in Nebraska.

During that time, the new herd reached an estimated 45 in number, but the winter of 1985 was to prove the exciting one for elk enthusiasts. Local volunteers raced winter storms across the Great Plains to bring back seven loads containing 74 new elk. They were unloaded in various locations along the Buffalo National River, and for the most part, the elk have stayed close to the river-bottom fields.

Tracking the Elk

  The Game & Fish Commission and National Park Service monitor Elk using field observations, helicopter counts and, in recent years, thermal infrared sensing equipment. Elk have been reported in Washington, Carroll, Boone, Marion, Newton, Searcy, Stone, Conway, Pope, Van Buren and Faulkner counties, but most of the approximately 450- 500 Elk in the Arkansas herd occur along 67 miles of the upper and middle Buffalo National River corridor in Newton and Searcy counties, primarily on National Park Service land.

  Arkansas Elk range covers approximately 225,000 acres. Gene Rush/Buffalo River Wildlife Management Area, which borders Park Service property along the river, is included in this area, and elk are also found seasonally on surrounding private lands.

  Each year since 1991, biologists in helicopters have counted elk along the Buffalo River corridor and in some private land areas. Seventy-six elk were counted in 1991, 144 in 1992, 142 in 1993 and 140 in 1994. Calf/cow ratios have ranged from 40 to 49 calves per 100 cows, which suggest adequate reproduction. Bull/cow ratios have ranged from 39 to 54 antlered bulls per 100 cows, which compare favorably with data on established elk herds in some western states.

  A thermal infrared sensing project initiated in 1994 provides more precise information on elk numbers and distribution. In February and March 1994, 312 elk were found on national park land, AG&FC land and adjacent private lands along the Buffalo River corridor between Boxley and the Highway 65 Bridge at Silver Hill.

  Fifty-five elk deaths were documented between 1981 and 1993. Poaching (32 percent) and disease (31 percent) are primary factors in these losses. Without suitable habitat, elk would soon disappear from Arkansas. Realizing this, state, federal and private interests have worked together to expand and improve elk habitat along the Buffalo River.

  Elk are vigorous and hardy and they are browsers who can find plenty of food in places where deer cannot. The Elk eat grass, hardwood and conifer brush and some rough weeds deer won't touch. Their mating season is in the fall, usually October, and is characterized by a far reaching bugle call sounded by the bulls which descends the scale to a low rumble. The massive animals, which may stand five feet high at the shoulder and weigh from 600 to 1000 pounds, also fight extensively during the season, facing each other from 20 feet apart and charging with lowered heads. Although serious injury is rare, the massive antlers, which spread from three to five feet with five to seven points on each side, have been known to become hopelessly locked, causing both bulls to die of starvation. The gestation period for the cow is 249 to 269 days and the calves are dropped in May or June. Calves are light colored with white spots. Multiple births do occur, but are more rare than in other deer species.

  The Elk are the second largest member of the deer family. The moose is the largest. After a hundred year absence, the Elk are finding they fit well, after all, with descendants of those who once pushed them westward.

Looky Here!

  To see elk take Hwy 23 south from Eureka Springs South to Hwy 412. Go east on Hwy. 412 to Hwy 21 South. Go through Kingston, and stay on Hwy. 21 for the spectacular descent into the Boxley Valley. Turn left on Hwy 43. Watch for elk in the meadow on the right. Go left on Hwy 74 into Ponca and visit the Ponca Elk Education Center.

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Ponca Elk Education Center

Elk are one of the largest members of the deer family in North America and many of us associate this animal with western states. However, the eastern elk was a native of the Natural State. Unfortunately, this subspecies disappeared from our state after 1840 and for almost one hundred years, a bugling elk could not be heard throughout the hills of Arkansas.

  Today, an elk herd of about 450 animals makes its home along the Buffalo National River. To learn more about this animal's recovery, biology and history, check out the Elk Education Center in Ponca. You will find exhibits and meeting space to assist as you delve into the world of Arkansas elk as well as the other flora and fauna of the Ozark Mountains.

* Hours of Operation

10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

5 days a week (Thursday-Monday)

Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Open 7 days a week during October

Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day

  For more information regarding a visit to the Ponca Elk Education Center, please contact: Ponca Elk Education Cente P.O. Box 31 Ponca, AR 72670 (870)861-2432 elkedcenter@agfc.state.ar.us