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Get up close & personal with wildlife in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Zoom event lets folks explore the flora and fauna -- especially the elk population that was reintroduced to the park in 2001.
Credit: Garrett Hargiss
Learn about elk of the Smokies

MAGGIE VALLEY, N.C. — Fans of nature and wildlife can learn all about elk roaming the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, along the North Carolina, Tennessee border.

Friday, September 17 at 1 p.m., wildlife biologist Joseph Yarkovich will hold a free Zoom seminar on the animals in the woods as part of the non-profit group Discover Life in America's (DLIA) work to document and share information about the animals and plants in the park.

The online virtual event, part of DLIA's  'Science at Sugarlands' series, is free.

Yarkovich worked as part of the team reintroducing the elk species into the national park in 2001 after they almost disappeared due to overhunting. According to information provided by Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s; in Tennessee, the last elk killed was in the mid-1800s.

Between 2001 and 2002, a total of 52 elk were brought to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Find more details at the Discover Life in America website: dlia.org.

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