Monitor elk movements this fall breeding season

To help the DNR better monitor the movements of the state’s elk herds throughout the fall breeding season, the public can report sightings of elk outside of their normal ranges. Each year, September marks the beginning of the breeding season for elk, with the season running through October.

While most breeding activity occurs within their established territory – the Clam Lake and Black River elk ranges – younger bull elk have been known to wander great distances this time of year, in search of unoccupied territory and lower competition for female elk.

It is not uncommon to see elk in Rusk and other counties in northern Wisconsin.

Anyone who sees an elk outside of those ranges, is encouraged to report their sighting online, using the DNR’s large mammal observation form. Reports with photos are helpful, if possible, but all reports are welcome.

Additionally, elk may sport unique identifiers, such as ear tags or orange GPS tracking collars. If tag or collar numbers are easily visible, include that information in the report, as that information is helpful for DNR staff.

Once widespread across North America, elk were eliminated from Wisconsin, in the 1880s, because of unregulated hunting. With the support of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Ho-Chunk Nation, the Ojibwe Tribes and several other partners, the DNR successfully reintroduced elk into the Northern Elk Range, near Clam Lake, in 1995, and the Central Elk Range, near Black River Falls, in 2015 and 2016, and subsequently supplemented the northern herd with elk from Kentucky, in 2017 and 2019.

The Wisconsin elk population is estimated to reach 515 elk at the conclusion of the 2023 calving season, with 160 elk in the central herd and 355 in the northern herd.

More information on elk reintroduction and management is available at wisconsin.gov.