Elk
Cervus
elaphus
Elk (also known as Wapiti, a Shawnee name meaning 'white rump') are an Old World deer species that originated in Eurasia and spread to North America, crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the ice age. North American elk were once considered a separate species, and the Eurasian red deer another species. Scientists now consider the North American Elk and Eurasian red deer to be the same, though distinctions between the two live on in the language. European red deer will interbreed with American elk, when penned together, and the offspring are fertile. Elk weigh 230 to 450 kg (500 to 1,000 lbs.) and stand 0.75-1.5 m (2.5-5 ft.) high at the shoulder. Their antlers usually measure 1 to 1.5 m across, tip to tip. Males often weigh twice as much as females. North American elk are the largest of the Red Deer, similar in size to, or slightly larger than, the Russian Maral. The American elk terminology is different from the European, as the males are called bulls, the females are called cows, and the offspring are calves, rather than stags, hinds, and fawns, respectively. The vocal apparatus and mating call of the elk is also different from that of the Red Deer, in that the elk "bugle" as opposed to "roaring". This is an adaptation to the more open (less thickly wooded) environment of the elk, allowing high-pitched sounds to travel further. The current elk population of the United States is estimated to be about one-tenth of the historic level. The population along with most other North American game animals reached a low point around 1900. However populations have rebounded with controls on hunting. There were estimated to be 782,500 elk in North America in 1989. About 72,000 then lived in Canada. Some 20,000 are in ranches where they are raised for meat, antlers, or for hunting. One of the most important uses of farmed or ranched elk is production of Velvet antler. Most elk live in the west, especially the Rocky Mountain region. Only 3,500 elk live in the wild in the United States east of the Mississippi River and that population is spread over seven states. The population is similarly small in eastern Canada. However, both areas have in recent years experienced a steady population growth and even dispersal into areas that the elk were not originally transplanted to. |