Photos / California Moment

Motorists driving along Highway 101 on Sunday, Oct. 6, spotted this Roosevelt elk herd gazing just south of Crescent City.

According to the online site www.visitredwoods.com, Roosevelt elk were hunted nearly to extinction by North Coast settlers. There were only a few hundred animals left when conservation efforts began.

Now the elk number in the thousands and they are being reintroduced to many areas of their original range.