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DISTRIBUTION
Elk are a Holarctic species. This means
that they occur in Eurasia as well as North America. North
American elk were almost hunted to extinction by for their
meat, skin and antlers. By 1910 only a few elk remained and
conservation programs were begun. All along the Rocky Mountains
in North nAmerica, these programs used management of hunting
and management of habitat to help the elk survive. Today,
North America's elk population is thriving and the species
is being introduced into areas of the eastern United States.
The elk species found in Eurasia are commonly called Red Deer
and are similar in size and weight to the elk found in north
America.
Elk prefer open woodlands and avoid
dense unbroken forests. |
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Elk can be found in coniferous swamps,
clear cuts, aspen-hardwood forests, and coniferous-hardwood
forests. Elk have a home range of approximately 600 square
miles. |
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Bull Elk |
DESCRIPTION
The American Elk, also known as Wapiti, a Shawnee word meaning
"white rump", is the second largest and most vocal member
of the deer family. Males weigh from 450 pounds to 900 pounds
and females weigh about half as much. Elks range in color
from dark brown to tan. The head, neck, belly and legs are
darker than the back and sides. A dark mane hangs from the
neck to the chest.
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Cow Elk |
The
coat's dense course appearance results from the hollow nature
of the hairs which help insulate the elk from the cold of
winter. The coat is shed in spring. Male elk, called bulls,
have antlers which start to develop in the spring and are
shed in the winter. Antlers can be impressive in size
some weighing as much as 80 pounds.
The Elk is also one of few members of the deer family to retain
its canine teeth which, are often called bugle teeth. both
male (bull) and female (cow) elk have these bugle teeth. Contrary
to their name the teeth do not play a part in the elk vocalizations
called bugling. |
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DIET
Elk eat grasses and the new tips and leaves
of shrubs. In summer their diet consists of approximately 80 percent
grasses the rest of their diet is made up of small newly growing
twigs. In winter their diet changes to 50 percent grasses and 50
percent small twigs and tree bark particularly aspen tree bark in
the Rocky Mountain region. |
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Calf
Click image for larger view |
LIFE CYCLE/SOCIAL BEHAVIORS
Elk are most active in the mornings
and evenings. They are very social and live in herds that
can reach sizes of more than several hundred individuals.
The bulls spar with other bulls in the fall of the year for
dominance and possession of harems of several cows. Female
elk breed, for the first time, at the age of three and give
birth to their young after an 8.5 month gestation period.
The young are called calves are born between May and June.
The coats of newborn calves have creamy spots on their back
and sides and they are wobbly on their feet. They quickly
gain their balance and can out run a man at the age of one
week. |
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SOME INTERESTING FACTS
1. Elk are known as the noisiest of all cervids.
Newborns bleat and squeal, females bark, grunt and squeal, and males
are known for their characteristic low pitched bellow or roar, known
as bugling.
2. Elk were originally valued by the early
settlers and Native Americans as food and for their fur, teeth,
hides, and antlers. Today elk are economically valuable for tourism
and hunting.
3. Favorite foods for elk include dandelions,
asters, hawkweed, violets, clover, and the occasional mushroom.
4. Like cows, elk are ruminant animals and
engage in the activity of chewing cud.
5. When elk calves are born their hooves are
soft.
6. Predators of elk include the mountain lion,
gray wolf, and bears. |
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