Missouri's first elk was harvested in the state's first elk-hunting season in modern history according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Joe Benthall, of Mount Vernon, harvested a 2.5-year-old bull elk on Saturday near Ellington.
This was Benthall's first-time elk hunting.
5 Missourians received permits in a drawing of over 19,000 permit applications.
The elk firearms season runs through Dec. 20.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, elk are a native species in Missouri but were hunted to extinction in the state in the late 1800s.
In 2011, an effort was begun to reintroduce about 100 elk to a remote area of southeast Missouri. The population now numbers more than 200 and is concentrated in Shannon, Carter, and Reynolds counties.