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Revisiting the Elk of Benezette Pennsylvania with my best bud Mike... Sept 2015

We stood face to face for awhile until he looked away.

-In the mid 1860s, Pennsylvania's last few native elk were still roaming in Elk and Cameron counties. Within a few years, though, they would be gone.

In 1913, Pennsylvania's first shipment of Yellowstone elk arrived by train. The 50 elk cost about $30 each.

-To ensure the preservation of elk being released, the General Assembly in 1913 enacted a law protecting them until November 15, 1921, when a two-week elk season would be held.

-As of January 2017, there are about 1,000 elk in Pennsylvania.

-In Pennsylvania wild cow elk live an average of 10 years, while bulls live an average of 8 years. The oldest known cow in Pennsylvania was 32, and the oldest bull was 15. Captive elk live longer than wild elk. -Bears and coyotes will prey on elk calves, but cow elk have a strong maternal instinct to protect their calves and predation accounts for less than 1 percent of elk calf mortality.

-People are the only predator of adult elk in Pennsylvania.