Elk

Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni

Sometimes called wapiti among the Shawnee Indians and by modern scientists, the Rocky Mountain elk once were found over most of the U.S. and southern Canada. The largest herds thrive in Yellowstone Park.

Elk require cover and good habitat to thrive. They eat mostly grass, and they typically graze in meadows in the morning or evening, then spend the rest of the day in timber. This provides a measure of protection from predators, insects, and people. They are capable of astounding speed in the forest.

The body color of the elk is pale tan or brown, the legs are long, and the ears are large and conspicuous. A member of the deer family, the elk lives in close association with the deer on the Preserve. Like its other cousin, the red stag, only the males carry antlers, which have a main beam sweeping backward over the neck and shoulders. Mature bulls, which stand up to 5 feet tall at the shoulder and may weigh 700 pounds or more, have up to six or seven tines on each main beam. Nature has designed these antlers to catch a rival's rack and then to disengage smoothly after a joust. Rarely do they become so entangled that they cannot be separated.

A rutting bull is very vocal and will bugle loudly to announce his vitality. The piercing, high-pitched call, echoing down a mountain ridge or through the woods, is spectacular to hear. He will thrash about in shrubs with his antlers and engage brush and saplings in mock battles. A dominant bull gathers cows into a harem, to which he claims all breeding rights, and he will not give up his rights without a fight. A bull often uses his antlers, which are rather sharp, to prod a wandering cow back to the herd.

Elk are large animals, the antlers they carry are huge, and their meat is highly prized. Hunters must search long and hard to find a wildlife species that surpsasses the magnificence of the Rocky Mountain elk.