The Ghost Elk of Newton County in East Texas
LISTEN: (6 min, 2 sec)
I’LL NEVER FORGET THE SHOCK of my life in college while hunting in Newton County, Texas. I had a little game camera strapped to a tree on a sandy ridge where I’d been watching for deer. One summer morning, I pulled the SD card, plugged it in, and about fell out of my chair.
There, staring back at me, was a bull elk.
Not just any elk but a white bull elk, in full velvet.
Now, let’s be honest. This wasn’t some lost relic of a wild, remnant herd. Without a doubt, that bull was a high-fence escapee. And in true escapee fashion, he didn’t stick around. He showed up for a handful of days, moving through the area like a shadow, then vanished as suddenly as he appeared.
Still, seeing an animal so out of place, so unexpected, set a hook in me. It was like catching sight of a ghost where it shouldn’t exist. That moment sent me down a trail of questions—and eventually into the long, strange story of elk in Texas.
Most Texans don’t realize that elk are native to the Lone Star State. The earliest recorded mention of elk in what is now Texas dates to 1601, when the Spanish governor Don Juan de Oñate explored northeast of Santa Fe and described deer of astonishing size traveling in droves—likely elk. In 1759, Captain Juan Ángel de Oyarzún reported elk near present-day Menard, describing watering places “recognized as that of the burros (what they called elk at the time)” for the many that came there.
Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com
Free Range Elk in Texas
Join Texas Hunting Resources for a free range elk hunt in the mountains of southwest Texas. Elk can be hunted year round in Texas with any weapon.
