ナショナルジオグラフィックさんのインスタグラム写真 - (ナショナルジオグラフィックInstagram)「Photos by Stephen Alvarez @salvarezphoto / A bull elk bugles in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Elk call to each other. In this case, the bull is calling to the cows in his group to keep them together—and away from competing males. On this beautiful morning in mid-October, a hundred or more people braved the narrow, winding dirt road that leads into the valley to the herd. Great herds of elk used to be common in the eastern United States, but since the mid-1800s, their only remnants were names: Elkmont, Banner Elk, the Elk River— where I live in Tennessee. Elk are enormous; a bull can weigh over 700 pounds (300 kg). It is hard to appreciate how vast a project reintroducing a huge animal into its original habitat is. Bringing elk back to the Smoky Mountains National Park took 10 years of study across the federal, state, and local levels, culminating in 2001, when the first 25 animals were reintroduced. Today the herd has grown to almost 200. Seeing and hearing them is a visceral experience. People flock to this part of the park just for a glimpse of these magnificent animals. Follow me, @salvarezphoto for more images from around the world.」11月18日 4時37分