Relative to western populations, numbers of elk must have been low in eastern North America, except in regions like western Kentucky, where the forests were interrupted by extensive grasslands. In British Columbia, elk were found throughout the central and southern parts of the province east of the Coast Range, in the Lower Mainland around the mouth of the Fraser River and on Vancouver Island. Farther west, on the prairies of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and north into the southern fringes of the boreal forest-the northernmost forest of the Northern Hemisphere-elk were numerous. Their range continued around the northern margins of lakes Huron and Superior and along the present American border from the Lakehead to the prairies of Manitoba, but in these areas their populations were sparse. Lawrence (where they were probably one of the species recorded but ambiguously described by Jacques Cartier), and into southern Ontario. Their range extended across southern Quebec, along the upper St. When Europeans arrived in Canada, elk were widely distributed. In the 1800s many elk were killed just to obtain the canine teeth. Their smooth rounded surface has made them attractive as jewellery. These teeth are a hangover from earlier evolutionary stages and now serve no apparent purpose. Unlike other deer, elk have upper canine, or "eye," teeth. Whatever their seasonal pattern, most elk use the same ranges year after year. Others may even switch between staying in a small area one year and using a large area the next.īulls may occupy a "rutting range" that is separate from localities where they are found during the rest of the year. However, elk are versatile animals and some may reverse this pattern or make visits back to their summer range during winter, snow conditions permitting, and down to their winter range during summer. In the mountains such individuals often summer in the high country and winter in the valleys. Others have home ranges of several hundred square kilometres, of which they use different parts during different seasons. Some in fact have home ranges of only a few square kilometres. Although they may travel widely, each elk is strongly attached to certain localities within its home range. However, elk populations today occupy forest or parkland regions, where small groups averaging six or seven animals are common.Įlk are long-lived animals: males survive to an average of 14 years, whereas females live as long as 24 years. The herd lifestyle is characteristic of animals that live in open country. They are seldom found without other elk nearby. Signs and soundsĮlk are sociable animals. Other red deer, smaller and belonging to several subspecies, are found throughout the northern hemisphere: in Scotland and continental Europe, in North Africa, and in Asia. "Wapiti," meaning "white rump," is the Shawnee Indian name and the common name preferred by scientists, because the animal known as an "elk" in Europe is not a red deer at all but a close relative of the North American moose. "Elk" is the name by which most Canadians know this majestic deer. Newly cleaned antlers are light grey in colour but become stained by rubbing and thrashing through vegetation during the rutting season. In later summer, the velvet is rubbed from the fully grown antlers, revealing the bony structure. Antlers look particularly large in summer when they are encased in velvet-a covering that protects them during growth. It is amazing that these large structures are grown new each year by the animals in a period of a few months in spring and summer. Male elk are notable for their impressively large antlers. Elk have long, blackish hair on the neck that is referred to as a mane. In contrast to the rump, the head and neck are dark. Although it looks white from a distance, on closer inspection the rump colour is ivory to orange. The colour of the elk’s coat ranges from reddish brown in summer to dark brown in winter. Cows are substantially smaller but still have a shoulder height of 135 cm and an adult weight of around 250 kg. An adult bull elk stands about 150 cm tall at the shoulder and weighs about 300 to 350 kg, although some large bulls approach 500 kg in late summer before the rut, or breeding season. Among Canadian deer, they are second in size only to the moose. In general appearance elk are obviously kin to the well-known white-tailed deer. The North American elk, or wapiti, is the largest form of the red deer species Cervus elaphus.
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