The week of Nov. 4-9 is when elk that are harvested are brought in to the elk check station from throughout the area. That check station is located in Benezette.

“It’s surprisingly popular. We get hundreds, maybe even thousands, of visitors throughout the week. Of course the weekends are busiest for people, although not the busiest for elks,” Melo noted, mentioning that by that Saturday, all the elks had been harvested already. “But the best days are definitely Monday and Tuesday. They’re usually the biggest days.”

It gives people an extremely unique experience to be able to witness and see the massive size of elks up close and in person. In the wild, the Game Commission notes to observe elk from at least 100 yards away. And while the elks are dead at the check stations, their size still is impressive to see.

“The elk, it’s super unique to see them up close. If you see them in the wild, you have to stay 100 yards away. At the check station, even though they’re deceased, you get a cool view of them and get to appreciate the large size of those animals,” Melo said. “I think any hunter is kind of curious. Elk tags are highly coveted, it’s hard to pull one. It’s cool to see how other hunters are doing in that pursuit.”

PHOTO PROVIDED An elk is examined at a check station last year in this photo by Mercy Melo of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Licenses to hunt elk are hard to get, as Melo noted. The Game Commission allots 10% of the estimated population of said animals for its tags. Currently, there’s approximately 1,400 elk, so the game commission gives out just 140 tags.

“You have to keep in mind we have tens of thousands of applicants (across Pennsylvania),” Melo said. “So it’s really wild to be able to pull one.”

Melo noted that viewing elk at the check stations is open to everyone.

“It’s a really cool opportunity and helps out that region of PA too because otherwise they don’t have much of a population base,” Melo said. “But during elk view, it’s insane up there. It’s really amazing.”

The first round of elk season was for archery which ran Sept. 14-28. The general season for elk hunting, when people typically want to see the elk check stations, is Monday, Nov. 4 through Saturday, Nov. 9.

PHOTO PROVIDED An elk is brought to a check station last year in this photo by Mercy Melo of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

As to what makes it such a popular thing? That’s anyone’s guess.”It’s hard to tell, but it definitely seems like a tradition here,” Melo said.