More Elk Will Arrive in the Ozarks Later This Month

(Jefferson City, MO) -- Nearly a year after dozens of elk were brought into the Show-Me State comes word of another round of arrivals.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says it will soon add 35 wild elk to the state's recently restored herd at Peck Ranch Conservation Area.

The 221,000-acre elk restoration zone covers parts of Shannon, Carter, and Reynolds counties.

MDC says the elk are set to arrive at the refuge area on May 18 from a capture site in eastern Kentucky. The animals will make a 400-mile overnight journey in a livestock tractor trailer, and will join 31 adult elk that were transported last spring.

The department is working with the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the U.S., Kentucky and Virginia departments of agriculture, along with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Services (KDFWS) and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF).

The elk will wear radio collars to track their movement.

MDC says it has "temporarily closed the 12,000-acre refuge area at Peck Ranch to public access until mid-summer to minimize disturbances to elk arriving from Kentucky and to resident elk that are calving."

Learn more: http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/elk-restoration-enters-second-year

See Also:
Concerns Raised as Elk Journey Reaches Missouri
Update: GPS Collars Monitoring Missouri Elk Release
Auditor Claims Elk Reintroduction Project Over Budget