The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is responding to the public's concerns after an elk was euthanized after video showing its encounter with a photographer gained national attention.

Last week, Asheville photographer James York shared his story of the day he was sitting on the side of the road in Cataloochee taking photos when the young male elk approached him and began head butting him. Another photographer video taped the entire encounter, and posted it on YouTube. York wasn't hurt, and laughed about the experience and joked about the wonderful photos he was able to snap.

However, park officials said Friday that the elk in the video had lost its fear of humans, and they made "the difficult decision to euthanize the elk." That was met with a huge outcry from the public online and in social media, with people questioning whether park officials exercised all possible options before killing the animal. Even York, the man in the video, was saddened by the news and the decision.

Here's the park's response to the public:


On October 20, 2013, a photographer in Cataloochee was approached by a young male elk while sitting alongside the road taking pictures. Photos and video of the encounter have been circulated widely. The elk had likely been fed by visitors and had lost his instinctive fear of humans. It associated humans with food and had been approaching visitors seeking handouts.

Did the park do anything to discourage this elk's behavior?




Why didn't we relocate the elk or give the elk to a zoo?

The park considered relocating the elk to another public land area in North Carolina, but this was not a viable option due to the animal's demonstrated potential to cause harm to people. If the animal had approached a child instead of an adult, the outcome for the visitor could have been very different.


Do we always kill "problem" elk?




What can visitors do to help protect elk in the park?





For more information on how to safely view wildlife, please visit the park's website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/wildlifeviewing.htm.


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