Tennessee

Abundant from the bottomland hardwood swamps of west Tennessee to the rolling farmland of middle Tennessee and the mountain ridges of the east. Mature bucks develop heavy mass feeding on acorns and agricultural crops.

Heavily concentrated in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest along the eastern border, with populations expanding westward onto the Cumberland Plateau.

Reintroduced to the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area in 2000, Tennessee's wild elk herd now numbers several hundred animals, offering limited draw quota tags for majestic bulls in scenic mountain landscapes.

Found in every county in Tennessee, wild turkeys thrive in mixed oak-hickory timber, forest clearings, and agricultural edges, supporting a revered spring hunting tradition.

Gray squirrels are ubiquitous throughout the extensive hardwood canopies of middle and east Tennessee, while fox squirrels occupy western river bottoms.

Stealthy native predator found statewide, particularly abundant in the rocky ledges, hollows, and dense undergrowth of the Cumberland Plateau.

Widespread across all 95 counties, hunting pasture borders, timber clearings, and agricultural fields.

Cottontails inhabit brushy field margins statewide, while large swamp rabbits ('cane-cutters') inhabit bottomland swamps and canebrakes along west Tennessee rivers.