CHEROKEE, N.C. — A large herd of elk stopped vehicles as they crossed a highway in western North Carolina.
The herd was spotted on Jan. 3 meandering across Highway 441 in Cherokee near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Elk sightings have become more common in the last few years, especially since their reintroduction into Great Smoky Mountains National Park more than 20 years ago.
Officials with the National Park Service and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation released 25 elk in February of 2001, WLOS reported. The next year they released another 27.
It started out as an experiment to bring back the native species which was run out by European settlers and overhunting in the late 1700′s.
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Ever since then, wildlife officials say the population has continued to grow slow but steadily in the mountain region.
(WATCH BELOW: Families work together to rescue a herd of elk from freezing river)
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