Seasonal Forage Availability and Diet of Reintroduced Elk in the Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reintroduced elk (Cervus elaphus manitobensis) into the Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee over a 3-year period beginning in December 2000. We radio-collared 160 elk and monitored them by aerial telemetry from February 2001 to June 2003. Locations (n = 1450) were used in a geographic information system (GIS) to develop a core herd home range (789-ha sampling area) to assess elk seasonal forage use and availability. We monitored diet and resource availability from November 2003 to October 2004 by vegetation sampling and microhistological analysis of feces. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea; 35.1%) dominated the winter grass diet composition (65.9%). The diet shifted in the spring to a mixture of woody plants (28.1%), forbs (19.4%), and grasses (38.4%). The highest seasonal use of forbs (45%) and legumes (23%) occurred during summer, with jewelweed (Impatiens spp.; 27%) as the dominant plant in the diet. The dominant fall forage class was woody plants (37.4%). Oaks (Quercus spp.; 14.3%) were the most used woody plant and oak acorns comprised 9.7% of the elk diet. Elk herbivory, interspecific competition for key resources (e.g., acorns), and landscape-level changes (e.g., mining) should be monitored. Short-term detrimental effects from mining could be severe for a small, growing elk herd, and demographic effects could affect reintroduction success. We suggest that historic evidence, native grasses, and the elk diet indicate that oak savannas would be an ideal habitat type to manage for on the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area. Further research will be needed to determine the effects of elk upon the flora and fauna in deciduous forests of eastern Tennessee.