An animal that was extinct in the North Carolina mountains for more than 200 years has re-emerged as a potential threat to drivers on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Big, angry elk.

“Adult elk seen along the Parkway and in Great Smoky Mountains National Park can weigh between 500 and 700 pounds and have been known to charge in order to defend themselves,” the National Park Service wrote in an Oct. 4 Facebook post.

“If you see an elk on the Parkway please keep your distance in order to maintain their safety and your own.”

Examples of car-vs.-elk incidents on the parkway were not reported, but crashes have happened elsewhere in North Carolina, including a July 2018 wreck on Interstate 26 in Henderson County. That’s 40 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains.

Elk grow bigger than black bears: up to 10 feet long and 5 feet tall at the shoulders, and the antlers on males can grow 5 feet wide, the National Park Service says.

Both males and females are known to charge if they perceive a threat, experts say.

The park service included a photo with its Facebook post, showing a bull elk as tall as a car crossing Heinent Spur Road near the parkway’s 458 mile post.