Elk are a presence in the Jasper community year-around. But the same elk that thrill visitors from around the world are a source of growing concern in the community. The answers to these questions are all linked to the challenge of locating a town in the middle of a national park, and in the Athabasca valley.
Elk are a native species.
They were nearly wiped out in the area now as Jasper National Park in the 1890s. Park managers gave their numbers a boost in 1920 by importing 88 Rocky Mountain elk from Yellowstone National Park. By the 1940s, numbers were healthy again and elk slaughters were used to herds. In the 1960s, the population reached record numbers of 2500 to 3500 mainly because natural predators like wolves were being destroyed. Slaughtering and relocations were used to 'take care of the problem' of high elk numbers in the 60s and 70s.