11/28/2023 0 Comments Adult male elkFor the first couple of weeks, they live apart from the rest of the herd with their mother after which they join the rest of the herd. There are no antlers on female elks.Įlk calves weigh around 35 pounds when they are born and they can already stand when they are just twenty minutes old. Once the antlers are fully grown, the elks shed the velvet. Each tine can be eighteen inches long, sometimes even longer.Īs the antlers grow, they are covered in velvet, a vascularized skin that protects the growing antlers. The antlers of a mature bull elk usually have six points, called tines. This makes the elk’s antlers some of the fastest-growing tissues in nature. The antlers grow fast, up to one inch per day. The male elks shed their antlers in the spring and grow them back during the summer. They measure 4-4.5 feet at the shoulder and are about 6.5 feet long. The male elk’s appearance is made even more impressive by its antlers, which can reach four feet above the head. Elk AppearanceĪn average bull elk is about five feet tall and eight feet long. You can come across the fourth type, the Manitoba elk in the south-eastern parts of Manitoba and Alberta and the southern part of Saskatchewan. They live in the Northwest of the United States, Alaska, and Western Canada. Roosevelt elk is the largest elk species. The Tule elk is the smallest elk species and is found mainly in California. These elks have the widest range of habitats. The Rocky Mountain elk is the most populous type of elk in North America. While elks may all seem very similar, there are four subspecies and each has its own characteristics. There Are More Than One Type of Elk Species Elks that reach adulthood can live for 10-13 years. Elk calves can also fall prey to bobcats and coyotes. However, weaker or lone elks can be killed by mountain lions, bears, or grey wolves. They do this to protect the young and the weak from predators.īecause of their impressive size, adult elks do not have many predators. Elks live in large herds, sometimes numbering 400 in a single herd. A male elk is called a bull, a female a cow, and a baby elk a calf. What Are Elks Like as Species?Įlks are native to North America, which is also home to four other Cervidae species: moose, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and caribou. However, not all elks migrate if there is less seasonal variety in the climate and a variety of food available all year round. This video shows you more about where elks go in the winter.Įlks migrate in large herds when they leave the mountain grasslands. As the winter approaches, the elks will return to the lower valleys where food is more easily available. In the early summer, elks living in mountainous areas will migrate to grazing grounds in the high mountains at higher elevations. Elks are migratory, meaning they can change their location depending on the time of the year. Because elks are highly adaptable, they can also be found in the semi-deserts of North America. Elk HabitatsĮlks live in forests, edges of forests, and alpine meadows. Outside North America, you can find elks in parts of Asia. To increase the number of elks in the US, some states in the country’s east have reintroduced small herds of elk into wilderness areas. However, you can find them as far east as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia. States in the Pacific Northwest, such as Colorado, Montana, and Oregon have the largest American elk populations. Today, you are most likely to see elks in western North America, in particular in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks to conservation efforts, the number of elks has increased to roughly one million across the United States and Canada. Once there were millions of elks in North America, but because of hunting and habitat destruction, their numbers were down to below 50,000 just one hundred years ago. Other than learning about their habitat, you will also find other interesting details about one of the largest subspecies in the deer family. In this article, we will explain where elks live so you know where you have the best chance of spotting one. If you are interested in seeing wild elk, you might have asked yourself: where do elks live? It is not common to see elk in nature because they avoid encounters with people. Elks are magnificent creatures and members of the deer family, a subgroup of ungulates, which includes mammals with hooves.
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