Founa Report- Elk

5/15/08

This animal can be found almost all over North America, the majority of them live in the Northwestern.This animal can be found almost all over North America, the majority of them live in the Northwestern part of the U.S. and can be found in other parts of the world, this animal is the Elk. The scientific name of the Elk is Cervus elaphus. The elk is related to deer, moose and caribou, they are one of the biggest in the family next to the moose and is one of the largest mammals in North America. Most bull elk can weigh from 700 lbs. Up to over 1,000 lbs., they can be as tall as 5’ to 6’ maybe taller. An elk antler can grow up to 5 feet or more and weigh up to 40 lbs.. The color of an elk can vary from a deep copper brown in the winter and a light tan color in the summer, and the neck and legs are usually a darker color. They have two coats the winter coat with is heavy and used to keep warm and is waterproof and a summer coat that is light and short so that they can stay cool. Bull elk loose there antlers in the winter and in the summer they grow back and they have a fury thing all over there antlers so that they can grow and in the summer they shed the velvet because the antlers have fully grown. Their diet consist of grass, forbs, shrubs, tree bark and twigs. Elk have to eat 10 to 15 lbs of vegetation per day. Their main predators are wolves, mountain lions and bears.

An elks habitat has to have food, water, shelter and space in order for an elk survival. Elk live in a many different habitats, from rain forests to alpine meadows and dry desert valleys to hardwood forests. Today, about one million elk live in the western United States, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, and from Ontario west in Canada. Elk breeding season is in the fall. Bull elk gather cows and calves into a small group called harems. Bulls roll in mud to coat themselves with perfume to attract female elk. They also bugle and rub trees, shrubs and the ground with their antlers to attract cows and intimidate other bulls. Male elk aggressively guard their harems from other male elk. Sometimes, bull elk wage violent battles for a harem, occasionally even fighting to the death.