State Animal
Rock Mountain Elk
Cervus elaphus
Description A very large cervid, with thick neck and slender legs. Brown or tan above; underparts darker. Rump patch and tail yellowish brown. Male (known as a bull) has dark brown mane on throat and large, many-tined antlers: 6 tines on each side when mature, with main beam up to 5' (1.5 m) long. Juvenile spotted until 3 months of age. Ht 4' 6"5' (1.371.5 m); L 6' 8"9' 9" (2.032.97 m); T 3 1/88 3/8" (821 cm); HF 1826" (4666 cm); Wt male 6001,089 lb (272494 kg), female 450650 lb (204295 kg).
Similar Species Moose has huge, ponderous muzzle and dewlap; lacks yellowish rump and tail.
Breeding Breeds late AugustNovember, peaking OctoberNovember. 1 or 2 young born after gestation of around 9 months; Newborn weighs 2540 lb (1118 kg).
Habitat Variable: in summer, chiefly high, open mountain pastures; in winter, lower wooded slopes, often dense woods.
Range From e British Columbia, c Alberta, c Saskatchewan, and s Manitoba south to c New Mexico and Arizona, with great numbers in Washington, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Also along coast from Vancouver Island to n California; isolated populations elsewhere in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan. Small numbers in several eastern states, notably Pennsylvania.
Discussion The Elk is primarily nocturnal, but is especially active at dusk and dawn. Unlike the much smaller White-tailed Deer, which is often heard crashing through the brush, the Elk moves through the forest rapidly and almost silently. The bull can run up to 35 mph (55 km/h), and both bull and cow are strong swimmers. This animal marks the areas it frequents by stripping the bark from seedlings, the cow using her lower incisors and the bull the base of his antlers; they then rub the seedlings with the sides of the chin and muzzle. These posts may serve as territorial markers, warning other Elk to keep out. The Elk feeds on many kinds of plants, but is primarily a grazer. East of the Continental Divide, it feeds more heavily on woody vegetation, owing to the scarcity of grasses and forbs; it also consumes lichen. The availability of food appears to influence the time of mating, the percentage of cows that become pregnant, and the age of puberty. The Elk vocalizes in several ways. A young Elk squeals, an adult snorts and grunts, and a cow neighs to her calves. The alarm call is a sharp, barking snort. The "bugle," or "whistle," of a bull is a challenge to other bulls and a call of domination to cows; this vocalization begins as a bellow, changes almost immediately to a loud, shrill whistle or scream, and ends with a series of grunts. Only the whistle carries over long distances. A good imitation of this call, usually made with a commercial or homemade whistle about 1 foot (30 cm) long, may be answered by a bull, the most vocal of the American cervids. A cow also whistles, but not as loudly as a bull and chiefly in spring rather than fall. The Elk is very gregarious. The species main social unit is the cow/calf band or herd. The size of the herd varies greatly; it is sometimes composed of up to 400 individuals, depending on the terrain, cover, and amount of resources. The larger herds occur in open areas; smaller groups are found in woods. Bulls herd separately, remaining on the outskirts of a cow-dominated herd. During the rutting season, adult bulls join the cow/calf herd. At this time, the bull gives his bugling call, rolls in wallows of stagnant water and mud, and urinates on vegetation, which he then catches in his antlers and tosses over his back. Bulls clash their racks of antlers in mating jousts. They are seldom hurt, though occasionally there is a major injury or even a death. The most polygamous deer in America and perhaps the world, the bull Elk assembles a harem of up to 60 cows. After a lengthy gestation, the cow leaves the herd to give birth. A week later, she rejoins the herd with her calf, which is entirely dependent on milk for one month, and may suckle for up to nine months. The calf joins a nursery herd for a few weeks after birth; otherwise cows and calves herd together through the summer. As it approaches maturity, the juvenile bull spends less and less time with the cow-dominated herd.The Elks main predator is the Mountain Lion, although bears also take some calves. "Elk," the British name for the Moose, was misapplied to the "Wapiti" by early settlers. Wapiti, a Shawnee word meaning "white (or pale) deer," alluded to the sides and flanks of the Rocky Mountain subspecies
(C. e. nelsoni), which are often very pale. The Roosevelt subspecies
(C. e. roosevelti), shown in plate 317 in its rain forest habitat in Washingtons Olympic National Park, is found in the Pacific Northwest. Elk once ranged through most of what is now the U.S. and southern Canada, but their number dwindled as settlements and farming took over their habitats and also as a result of hunting, both for the market and for subsistence. In the 19th century, many Elk were primarily plains animals and were shot by ranchers to reduce grazing competition with domestic livestock. Thousands were also killed solely for two of their upper teeth, which were popular as watch-fob charms. Today Elk herds appear to be stable. In winter, large numbers can be observed as they gather at a refuge outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to receive supplemental feed.
