The elk exhibit opened to the public in April 2007 and originally housed three elk. In 2014, the Parks Department purchased the elk herd from Glacier Ridge Animal Farm in Van Dyne, WI. Currently there are 5 elk in the exhibit, 4 females and an adult male. Mama is our oldest elk that came in 2007 when she was 4 years old, in 2009 she gave birth to Lilly and 2014 gave birth to Stella. In 2014 Lilly gave birth to Georgia, our male Elk Mister was acquired in 2009. Georgia was hand raised by staff for the first two months of her life and returned to the herd in the fall. Elk are herbivores eating grass, leaves, shrubs and any other vegetation they find. Male elk can get between 700lbs to 1100lbs and Females 500lbs-600lbs. Males shed their antlers every spring and grow them back by fall for mating season.
About Elk in Wisconsin
Historically elk ranged throughout Wisconsin but were extinct in the state by the late 1880s because of overhunting and habitat loss when settlers converted forest to farmland. Currently, suitable elk habitat is located in the northern and central forest regions of the state. As early as 1930, the state made efforts to reintroduce elk to the state, primarily because its citizens wanted a viable population for sport hunting. Recovery efforts to bring a sustainable elk population back to Wisconsin have been underway since 1995 when the Clam Lake herd was established. In 2016, another herd of elk were introduced to Jackson County near Black River Falls. The first elk hunting season in decades occurred in 2018 in which 4 lucky participants were chosen from a lottery of 38,000 applications! One other hunter won an opportunity through the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The elk and Wisconsin’s hunting culture is sustained by money from the application, license fees, and raffles by funding future elk management and research on the Wisconsin herds.
To learn more about Elk in Wisconsin, visit the DNR Elk Fact Sheet
Did You Know?
An elk's bugling can be heard for miles, but elk can also communicate and signal to each other using their feet!
