Elk, also called wapiti, used to graze throughout most of the country, but the Eastern Elk was driven to extinction through hunting and habitat loss soon after the arrival of European settlers.

But elk were once an Eastern animal, too, drifting through hardwood forests from Georgia to southern New England, till uncontrolled hunting and habitat destruction led to their extermination.

Yes, you read that right, this is actually a reintroduction effort. There were native elk here, and they were eastern elk that were actually a little larger than the western elk that are being ...