Bull elk use their antlers primarily to battle others during the rut in hopes of gaining a female to mate with. Like most species of deer, only male elk will develop antlers. Sometimes bull elk may rub their antlers on a nearby tree or brush to help loosen up the velvet, allowing it to fall off more easily. After the antlers are developed (usually in the summer), the velvet will slowly begin to fall off. The velvet carries essential nutrients to the antlers to help stimulate regrowth. While the antler regrowth is taking process, a soft layer of highly vascular skin known as velvet covers and protects the antlers. In terms of size, elk are nearly twice as heavy as the average mule deer.īull elk shed their antlers in winter and begin growing new, larger ones during spring.Unlike moose, elk prefer to travel in herds for added protection.Some Asian tribes and cultures revere the elk as a spiritual symbol.Elk are extremely fast and can reach speeds of 25 mph.A complete set of antlers from a bull elk can weigh up to 40 lbs.Elk are one of the largest land mammals in North America.Elk are also called wapiti, which means light-colored or pale deer.There are believed to be about 1 million elk living in North America.Once it reaches the fourth and last chamber, the digestion process takes place and the intestines absorb the food and nutrients. Each chamber helps to slowly break down the food as it passes to the next. An elk’s stomach has four separate chambers that the food must pass through before being completely digested. Like all deer, elk are ruminants, meaning they chew and swallow their food, regurgitate it, and swallow it again. You might be wondering how elk are able to consume such tough things like trees and brushes. On average, a healthy-bodied elk will consume between 15 and 25 lbs of food daily as long it’s readily available and there are no potential threats nearby. Their diet will change depending on their location and the time of year, but most elk typically graze and browse on a variety of grass (wheat grass, elk sedge, fescue, clover, and orchard grass), shrubs, plants, forbs, and even tree bark. Diet and Eating Habits of ElkĮlk are herbivores, meaning they eat only vegetation and no meat. Of course, the exact physical characteristics depend on the subspecies, as there are currently a total of 14 subspecies broken down into three major groups (see below for elk taxonomy). Elk can be most easily identified by their short, light-colored tails and slender legs. The colors of an elk’s body range from a light grey to tan and brown, while the fur on their head and neck is typically a bit darker. Although, most bulls will range between 600 – 700 pounds with females (cows) weighing slightly less at an average of 500 – 600 pounds. The weight of these large animals varies greatly with some male elk (bulls) topping the 1,000 lb mark. On average, a typical elk will reach a shoulder height of 4-5 feet and a body length of over 9 feet. They were originally native to North America and Eastern Asia, but have since been introduced into other ecosystems including New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina, where they have adapted with great ease.Īs stated above, elk are large mammals. The North American Elk ( Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest species of deer in the world, only second to the moose (which are coincidentally called elk in Europe).
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