The iconic elk herd that winters on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming — one of the largest elk concentrations in North America.
- 247 individual animals GPS-collared and tracked
- 650 migration tracks recorded
- Tracking span: 2006–2018
- Average migration distance: ~139 km
- Longest single recorded track: 742 km
The map below shows the herd’s migration corridors and a sample of the GPS tracks behind them. Press play on the slider below the map to animate the migration across the calendar year — watch the tracks pulse with the seasons.
11,000 elk on the National Elk Refuge
The Jackson Elk Herd winters on the National Elk Refuge just outside Jackson, Wyoming — a 25,000-acre wildlife refuge established in 1912 specifically to preserve winter range for the herd. In a typical winter, the refuge holds more than 11,000 elk concentrated across a few thousand acres, one of the largest wintering ungulate concentrations anywhere on Earth.
The 650 individual elk tracked in this dataset show the herd’s seasonal movement between the refuge and summer ranges in Grand Teton National Park, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and Yellowstone’s southern boundary. Spring migration starts in late March, with cow elk moving first; fall migration runs October through December and is driven by the first heavy snows.
Why this herd is unique
The Jackson Elk Herd is one of the most-studied elk populations in the world for a specific reason: it’s artificially concentrated. The National Elk Refuge has historically operated a winter feeding program (alfalfa pellets distributed by sleigh) that lets the herd survive at densities far above what the natural winter range could support.
That program has been controversial for decades, with conservation biologists raising concerns about disease transmission risk (particularly chronic wasting disease) at high densities. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is currently phasing out the supplemental feeding, with research projects monitoring how the herd adjusts.
Watch the animation
Press play below the map and the GPS tracks of 650 collared elk will animate through the calendar year. Watch the herd disperse out of the refuge in spring, fan out across the Tetons through summer, and pulse back to winter range in autumn — sometimes within days of the first major snowfall.
Related migration maps
This page is part of MapScaping’s western big-game migration series. See the Western US Big Game Migration Map for the complete dataset, explore migrations by species, or browse other famous corridors.
