A wandering elk, affectionately nicknamed Emil, has concluded its extensive summer travels across Central Europe. The animal was successfully captured by Austrian wildlife officials and subsequently released near the Czech border, close to the Sumava forest in South Bohemia.
Emil, a young male elk, became a celebrated figure as he traversed through numerous towns and villages across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria, covering an estimated 500 kilometers. His journey included crossing roads, streams, and even the River Danube, and he was even spotted near a heavy metal festival.
The elk’s adventures garnered significant attention on social media, with dedicated Facebook groups forming around him, amassing tens of thousands of members. The successful capture and release, which involved fitting Emil with a GPS tag, aims to integrate him with the local elk population in the Sumava region. Elk, once native to the Czech forests, were hunted to extinction in the Middle Ages, with recent reintroduction efforts only becoming successful in the 1970s.