Elk hunters in Tennessee took eight bull elk over the just-concluded hunting season, the largest harvest since Tennessee instituted an elk hunt in 2009. The highest previous elk harvest was six in 2012.
Participants could hunt on North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and surrounding private lands, although none of this year’s hunters chose to hunt on private lands.
Tennessee wildlife officials estimate its elk herd numbers approximately 405 animals.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation helped release 201 elk into Tennessee during 2000-2008. Since 1990, RMEF and its partners completed 86 conservation and hunting heritage outreach projects in Tennessee with a combined value of more than $1.9 million. These projects protected or enhanced 77,261 acres of habitat and opened or secured public access to 74,000 acres.
(Photo source: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)