FIRST SIGHTING IN NEARLY THREE CENTURIES …
For the first time in nearly three centuries, a wild elk is running free in the Palmetto State.
According to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the young male bull elk was first spotted on Friday at Camp McCall – a Southern Baptist Convention camp in Pickens County, S.C. The next day it was observed outside the U.S. Post Office in Sunset, S.C., and the following day it was seen wandering the links at The Reserve at Lake Keowee.
Fore!
The elk is believed to be around two-and-a-half years old and could weigh up to 700 pounds. Biologists believe the animal was part of a herd of rocky moutain elk reestablished in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park beginning in 2001.
SCDNR warned people not to approach the elk – which biologists believe will eventually meander back to the herd in North Carolina once it “realizes there are no female elk in South Carolina.”
LOL.
“People get a false sense of security, because elk don’t mind being approached,” Justin McVey of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said. “But they are still wild animals and can be very dangerous. All it would take is for that elk to swing its antlers, and it could really hurt somebody.”
When America was first settled, elk roamed throughout the Appalachian area. However the last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s.
In case you were wondering, elk hunting is illegal in South Carolina thanks to a law passed by the S.C. General Assembly back in 2011 in anticipation of this very scenario.
For more coverage of the elk, check out this article by reporter Ron Barnett of The Greenville News.
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