Shane Proctor of Ozark, photographs elk located in Newton and Searcy counties.


A steady stream of motorists, even truck drivers hauling loads, pull off the highway to gaze at the elk.


Shane and Lori Proctor, of Ozark, Mo., often make the two-hour drive to see the elk and to hike. “We have been coming pretty regularly, almost monthly, for the last two years,” Shane said. “It is the only place you can see them and you can see them so close in their natural habitat.”


Elk once flourished throughout the United States, but over-hunting and a loss of habitat reduced the population to just a few herds of western elk and led to the extinction of eastern elk, the species native to Arkansas, in the mid 1800s according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission that oversees the herds.


A young bull elk jumps a fence. Despite their size, elk are quite agile and can be a danger to humans. 30 Living Well i March/April 2017


The National Park Service and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have also done significant work to improve their habitat. National Park


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