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What exactly is an elk, you ask? Well, they look sort of like if a horse and a deer had a baby. And Brits could soon be about to become a lot more familiar with elk, as the long-snouted, majestic creatures are set to make a comeback in the UK.
These elusive animals once roamed Britain’s forests, but around 3,000 years ago they were hunted to extinction. Now, thanks to a new rewilding project, elk could return to British woodlands by as soon as 2028.
Early stages of a project in Nottinghamshire are being funded by Rewilding Britain, which is an organisation that was founded in 2015 with the aim of bringing back lost species to Britain’s natural habitats. The charity handed £15,000 to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts in May 2025 to investigate whether these gentle giants could safely return to the wild.
The plan is to introduce elk in ‘a very large wild-type’ enclosure to help them settle in. Eventually, they’d be released into the Idle Valley Nature Reserve, surrounded by a fence to study the animals and keep them from wandering into the River Trent and Idle floodplains.
Known as moose in North America, European elk could bring major benefits to local ecosystems. Their grazing habits open up forest floors, allowing more light in and promoting the growth of a diverse range of plants. Basically, they’re four-legged eco-warriors with striking antlers.
Since the elk rewilding project in Nottinghamshire was first announced last year, locals have expressed their interest at seeing these oversized members of the deer family roam the forests. But more funding is needed, not least to transport the hefty herbivores to their potential new home.
Before any hooves hit British soil, a disease risk assessment team will need to give the all-clear to make sure the elk won’t bring any unwanted germs with them. The good news is so far there’s been no evidence of disease transmission in existing elk populations across Europe.
A similar project in 2021 saw the successful reintroduction of beavers – nature’s engineers – into the UK’s wildlife ecosystem after nearly 400 years of absence. Watch this space for elk updates!
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