The elk population in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is about to double.

Twenty-five elk captured from Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky were released in Cataloochee on Feb. 2, 2001, as the first phase of a five-year experimental release. Today, 27 more elk captured from Elk Island National Park, near Edmonton, Canada are making the long journey south to Western North Carolina.

Jennifer Murrow of the University of Tennessee, chief field researcher for the project, said the first year of the program has been a tremendous success. She said there are presently 28 healthy elk in the valley. One calf was known to be taken by predators, apparently coyotes, and three more may have met similar fates. One adult was discovered exhibiting acute neurological symptoms and had to be euthanized by park rangers. The animal is believed to have contracted meningeal worms.

A few of the elk roamed out of the park but the majority stayed within two miles of the release site. A couple of mature bulls spent most of the year on the Cherokee Reservation, under the watchful eye of the Tribal Fish and Game Department. These animals returned to the valley at the beginning of rutting season. Some females wandered out of the park to have their calves.

Landowners in the White Oak community of northern Haywood County requested the Park Service remove a cow and calf from their property and return them to the park. The animals were quite visible, and the residents were afraid they might be poached.

Murrow, who was at Elk Island to help “work-up” the 27 newcomers, said the elk were fit and all had been screened for disease by the Canadian Department of Agriculture. There are about a dozen calves and yearlings and the rest are adults. Bob Miller, GSMNP spokesman, said 19 were females and eight were males. Miller said there were no mature bulls in this group. Murrow said there was lots of “potential” for pregnant cows but results from definitive blood work had not yet been obtained.

Kim Delozier, supervisory biologist for the GSMNP, was scheduled to arrive at Elk Island on Jan. 21 to prepare for the long arduous trip to Cataloochee. Delozier said it would probably take up to three and a half days for the trip. The elk will travel in three trailers with at least two drivers for each trailer. There would be an extra trailer in case of some type of mechanical problem, and the caravan would be followed by an RV so drivers could sleep between shifts. She said the crew hoped to drive straight through but would stop if the elk appeared too stressed.

There will be no throngs and no fanfare when these weary travelers make it to Cataloochee. They will be released directly into the three-acre acclimation pen. Last year over 900 people — including park officials, politicians, representatives from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association plus local and national media and hundreds of interested spectators — were present to witness the arrival of the first elk.

Researchers have two major concerns regarding the well being of this year’s herd. First is the long journey. Last year’s animals from LBL were brought over in the course of one evening, held in their trailers and released the next morning. The 2,500-mile trip from Elk Island will be considerably more stressful. Miller said researchers worry about the animals contracting a stress induced disease called “capture myopathy,” which could be fatal.

Researchers are also concerned about how these Canadian animals will react to humans. The LBL herd is confined to a 750-acre enclosure and the elk are accustomed to vehicles and onlookers. Tourists are part of the daily routine. The elk from Elk Island reside in a 40,000-acre enclosure and are much more wary of humans.

But the LBL herd is originally from Elk Island. LBL biologist Steve Bloemer said the elk were pretty secretive during their first year of captivity at the recreation area. “They would come into the meadows as long as it was quiet, but at the sound of the first vehicle they would run into the woods.” He said it was about a year before the elk became accustomed to tourist traffic.

Because of their tameness most of the elk from LBL were captured using a tranquilizer gun. The Elk Island animals were lured into large baited enclosures. Remote cameras monitored the enclosures and the gates were operated by remote control.

Dr. Joe Clark, project leader at the University of Tennessee said, “genetically they’re the same animal but there are some behavioral differences.”

Clark and the other researches believe the “soft release,” holding the elk in the acclimation pen for a couple of months before releasing them into the park, helps keep the animals healthy and creates a more cohesive social group. Bloemer believes having the original herd nearby will also help.

“The new animals should take their cues from the established group,” he said.

Delozier said it could actually be a plus to the project if the new animals did roam more.

“We may be able to learn more about what other types of habitats elk will utilize, other than just grassy meadow, which only makes up 2 percent of the park,” he said.

Whatever the outcome, Murrow is sure about one thing.

“It will definitely mean less sleep,” she said. Murrow and her team still plan to locate every elk in the park, via radio telemetry and GPS collars, at least once a day. She said it would probably mean much more tracking from aircraft.

There has been no lack of public support for the reintroduction project. While overall park visitation fell by a million guests, visitation in Cataloochee doubled to 150,000 guests in 2001. Cataloochee Ranger Walt West noted that most people “are content to stick close to the road and view the elk from 40 to 60 yards.” But, cautioned West, “we do write citations to those who don’t cooperate.”

The animals from Elk Island will be released into the park around the end of April. Visitors will be able to distinguish the new herd by their white ear tags. The 2001 herd has yellow ear tags.