The antlers on a bull elk will weigh as much as 40 pounds. The eastern elk subspecies was native to Virginia until 1855, then became extinct when the last animal was killed that year in Clarke County. Current animals being stocked in the Eastern U.S. are from the West. Between 1917 and 1960, small herds of elk from Yellowstone National Park were relocated to Virginia. The last stocked elk vanished in 1970.
Elk are a member of the deer family.
Virginia game regulations do not have a special classification for them. This means elk are legal game targets under deer regulations, which in turns means there will be elk hunting in Virginia this season, thanks to the wandering animals from Kentucky. Elk generally avoid roads, lessening their chance of being involved in accidents with vehicles. In addition to Kentucky, stocking east of the Mississippi have taken place in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arkansas. Feasibility studies have taken place in New York, Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina in addition to Virginia.