The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has partnered with researchers from the University of Tennessee, the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in a research study on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (NCWMA).

The goal is to try and get a better idea of how many elk calves are born and subsequently survive each year.

Five years ago biologists roughly estimated there were about 350 elk on the NCWMA. But they say precise population estimates are extremely difficult because the animals live in such rough and remote terrain. Some experts generally estimate there are about 450 elk there now. About 150 elk also live in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to the east.

To try and get a better idea on how many young elk are born each year, biologists recently used a helicopter to capture 21 cow elk on the NCWMA. The pregnant cows were implanted with transmitters that will send a signal when a calf is born. Wildlife biologists then hope to locate the newborn calves and place tracking collars on them to learn about their survival.

Until they were restored to Tennessee beginning in 2000, the last historical record of an elk being sighted in the state was in 1865 when one was reported to be killed in Obion County. A total of 201 elk were released into the 670,000-acre restoration zone as of August 2008.

Elk hunting began in 2009 via a strict quota system. Hunters are allowed to take 15 elk in Tennessee each year.

Learn more about elk in Tennessee and view the live streaming "Elk Cam" on this TWRA website: