Happy ending for Elvis the elk

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FRENCH CREEK, W.Va., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- An elk that fled from a Pennsylvania farm and across the state line into West Virginia has been given a permanent home at a wildlife center.

Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, said Elvis the elk was spared the usual fate of a runaway -- being euthanized -- when he received an outpouring of support from the public, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday.

"There was a strong public request that we try to keep it alive, so we did," Murphy said.

The elk, which fled its Aleppo, Pa., farm last year and was captured about 17 miles away in West Virginia several months later in November, was taken to the West Virginia wildlife center in French Creek.

Murphy said Elvis is being isolated and kept out of the public view to allow him to acclimate to his new surroundings.

"It may be the rest of his life. We just don't know yet," he said.