CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia wildlife official says a monthlong series of fall tours to see elk drew visitors from eight other states.
Chief Logan State Park naturalist Lauren Cole told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that 227 people went on the sold-out tours in September and October.
The elk were at the nearby Tomlin Wildlife Management Area and were imported from Kentucky and Arizona. They’re part of a Division of Natural Resources effort to restore the species to the state.
Cole says elk were seen on 19 of the 20 tours. She attributed the one tour where elk weren’t seen to a group of hunters who were pursuing raccoons with dogs.
Cole says visitors also saw deer, wild turkeys, rabbits and a black bear.
The tours also were offered last year.