This Land, Your Land

The nonprofit Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has established a fund in remembrance of Elk No. 21, a bull elk shot to death in the park earlier this month.

Donations to the fund will go to the Cataloochee Elk Bugle Corps, a volunteer group that works to educate visitors about Cataloochee's elk herd and promote responsible viewing practices.

Authorities have said that a Granville County man is responsible for killing the elk, the first case of poaching in the park. They have not named the suspect.

"Rangers found the dead elk on Friday," the Charlotte Observer said Tuesday. "He was one of the largest and most majestic breeding bulls in the herd that was reintroduced to the park's Cataloochee Valley several years ago, park officials said."

"Bull 21 was one of the most dominate bulls in the Cataloochee Valley," says the Smoky Mountains Information blog, which has photos and a biography of the slain elk. "[H]is impressive size and huge antlers delighted visitors for years and impressed many of the female elk (called cows), which he collected into a harem and bred."

"The poacher will face a fine of up to $5,000 and six months in jail for the actual poaching and will face losing his truck as well as the weapon he used to commit this crime," Smoky Mountains Information says. "It is possible he may face other charges as well, for example, possession of a loaded weapon inside the National Park which is still illegal until February of 2010."