See Local Wildlife at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Looking for an offbeat fall adventure? Check out the elk herd at Cataloochee Valley, part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now is the breeding season for elk, so visitors can see and hear the males “bugling,” the distinct call they use to lure females and warn other males.

The herd at Cataloochee consists of 110 elk. The elk were reintroduced into the park in 2001, after being absent for more than a century.

Image courtesy of John Brandow-NPS