(AP) -- Wildlife officials say a second herd of elk from Kentucky has been released in west-central Wisconsin.
The Department of Natural Resources said Friday that 50 elk were released from a holding pen into the surrounding Jackson County forests.
The second herd from Kentucky arrived in March as part of a five-year reintroduction program conducted by the DNR.
Officials say 39 elk arrived at the Jackson County holding pen, but their numbers grew as pregnant cows gave birth this summer. The DNR released an inaugural herd in Jackson County last year.
Wisconsin has had only one elk herd near Clam Lake in northern Wisconsin for two decades.
Kevin Wallenfang of the DNR says the agency will now focus the next two to three years on adding animals to the northern herd.
