numbers

Still, the numbers were the third busiest October in the park's history.

MacKay chalked up the overall positive hunting and fishing trends to the state's rural nature.

Still, the number is well below the Wyoming Game and Fish Department goal of 800 animals for the valley.

Although elk numbers before wolf reintroduction in 1995 hit about 19,000, they have since plummeted to what has become a new normal of about 4,800.

Biologists say it appears elk numbers have rebounded from a significant decline that started in the mid-1990s.