I have seen Elk before in South Dakota and I am very familiar with White-tailed Deer so I am extremely confused by what I saw a few days ago. I was driving home from work and was passing by a large field and I saw an abnormally large, darkish-brown deer with a big, white patch on its hind quarters. It had no antlers ( I presume it was a female) and was abnormally large. I see White-tails all the time and I am certain I was not mistaken. Is it possible that an elk from the Smoky Mountains could have wondered south into Upstate South Carolina?
A bull elk was spotted in Pickens County in 2016, suspected to have originated from the Cataloochee Valley herd.
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Hmm interesting. So I guess it is certainly possible, though this was in Spartanburg/Greenville area.
Wouldn’t be the first apparently:
https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/confirmed-elk-sighting-south-carolina-upstate/
Edit: as already noted by @swampster
Elk do wander. They show up in places in my state (New Mexico) that are unexpected, but they are already common in most of our mountains and in some river valleys.