And yes, we do have Elk in Arkansas, again...

The Eastern Elk once thrived in Arkansas, but increased settlement, hunting, and land development drove the elk across Arkansas and the Eastern half of the United States into extinction.  Elk weren’t sighted in Arkansas after the 1840s, and the last Eastern Elk was reportedly killed in Pennsylvania in 1877.

In 1981, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, in cooperation with private citizens and the National Park Service, initiated an Elk restoration project in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas.  Between 1981 and 1985, 112 Rocky Mountain Elk from Colorado and Nebraska were released at five sites near Pruitt in Newton County.  All release sites were on or adjacent to Buffalo National River lands.  After their reintroduction in the 1980(s) they have thrived.  The original population of 112 has grown to today's estimate of roughly 500 elk.  In 1998, to control the population growth, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission established an Elk hunting season that continues today.