<< Back 6/26/02 Elk project records newborns; additional researcher hired SMN New additions are arriving in Cataloochee Valley. At least one newborn elk has been captured and collared this season. Calf number 60 was born to cow number 15. Researchers are monitoring six known pregnant females and there are four more suspected pregnant. While most elk continue to remain in or near Cataloochee, there have been reports of elk traveling to and from areas surrounding the valley, including Balsam Mountain, Little Cataloochee and the Cherokee Indian reservation. The Park Service has added staff to assist research leader Jennifer Murrow in keeping tabs on the elk in and around the park. Brandon Wear was hired in May. His primary responsibilities will be to monitor elk movements outside the park, work with landowners and educate the public. He will also help researchers during the calving season. Twenty-seven elk from Elk Island, Alberta, Canada were added to the Cataloochee population in February. Three of that group perished early this spring. Two fatalities are believed to have been stress-induced and one may have resulted from a liver disease. Vegetation sampling has also begun at fenced sites in the valley that the elk can’t get to. Vegetative samples from these sites will be compared to sites where the elk are feeding. These surveys will help biologist learn about the feeding habits of the elk. Wylie Paxton of the Park Service is leading the sampling effort.