The Little-Known Story Of How Elk In Missouri Are Making A Comeback

Exploring the outdoors in Missouri has always meant the unique opportunity to see wildlife – deer, river otters, and bald eagles – in their natural habitat. Some of those species, like bald eagles, had such a dangerously small population they were listed as endangered. (That is no longer the case today thanks to past conservation and reintroduction efforts.) Some other wild animals simply disappeared. For more than a century, for example, elk were missing from the landscape, something that didn’t escape nature lovers who fought to bring back elk in Missouri.

Before the 21st century, elk had last been seen in Missouri in the 1880s. Once a frequent sight on the landscape, the elk population eventually dwindled and disappeared as they lost their habitat to human development and overhunting.

A push to reintroduce elk began in 2011, with proponents arguing that the native species, and a game animal, belonged back in Missouri.

The first step in the process was to do a feasibility study, in which officials would identify the best place to reintroduce the elk. Due to a number of factors, including suitable habitat conditions, Peck Ranch Conservation Area in Fremont was chosen.

Thus, began the process of reintroducing elk in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) began by bringing elk from Kentucky to Missouri, but first, the elk went through quarantine and testing for diseases.

Additional elk were reintroduced in Missouri and, by 2013, there were 108 elk. The elk restoration zone consists of Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon Counties, including Peck Ranch Conservation Area and Current River Conservation Area.

While there are an estimated 200 to 250 elk in the state today, the MDC has a goal of as many as 400 to 500 elk.

The increase in the elk population has led to controlled hunting. Limited hunting permits are available for hunters in Carter, Reynolds, and Shannon Counties. (Hunters are not permitted in Peck Ranch Conservation Area’s refuge area.)

For more information, check out this report on Missouri’s elk from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Were you aware of the comeback story of elk in Missouri? What do you think? Have you seen any elk in the wild in your corner of Missouri? Let us know in the comments! Get a close-up look at roaming elk on a self-guided tour through Peck Ranch Conservation Area in Fremont, Missouri. Before you set off, make sure you pack your camera.

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