I agree 100%.  Elk were released in the park area as a reintroduction to a place they once lived freely.  Survival is good.   A little poaching happens but not often.  Black bears face the same problem, mostly from being fed by people and human food trash left out, attracting the bears-- a problem known to many wilderness parks.  Relocation appears to work in many cases.  In this event, I strongly felt the authorities jumped too quickly to an easy way out.   There are preserves and places which would welcome such a neat animal.  The Smoky Mountains National Park has large areas with no human habitation.  Are the elk there? I don't know. If so, it looks like relocation could have been attempted in the least for the sake of the young elk.  I wanted to know more of why the decision to kill was made but the news vanished quickly on this event.  

http://thomashaynes.zenfolio.com/ ( a plug for a webside, not connected to the thread)

Thomas  (typo from my previous post, cocy was supposed to be cozy)