SIZE: adult males weigh an average of 600-700 pounds. Successful wildlife reintroductions in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have included the river otter, Peregrine Falcon, and three species of small fish. In cases where native species have been eliminated from park lands, the National Park Service may choose to reintroduce them. A primary mission of the National Park Service is to preserve native plants and animals on lands it manages. By 1900, the population of elk in North America dropped to the point that hunting groups and other conservation organizations became concerned the species was headed for extinction. In Tennessee, the last elk was killed in the mid-1800s. The last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s. They were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat. Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains and elsewhere in the eastern United States. Biological Resources Division, and the University of Tennessee. Project partners include the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Parks Canada, Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Friends of the Smokies, the U.S.G.S. If the animals threaten park resources or create significant conflicts with park visitors, the program may be halted. All elk are radio collared and will be monitored during the five-year experimental phase of the project. In 2002, the park imported another 27animals. The experimental release of elk into Great Smoky Mountains National Park began in February, 2001 with the importation of 25 elk from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along the Tennessee-Kentucky border.
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