states have reintroduced small elk herds into heavily wooded wilderness areas. Today they live primarily in western North America, especially in mountainous landscapes such as Wyoming's National Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National Park. Elk female portrait in the forest on a rainy day. Population DistributionĮlk were once found across much of North America but they were killed off and driven to take refuge in more remote locations. Moose female portrait with tranquil background Moose (Alces alces). The herds return to lower valley pastures where elk spend the season pawing through snow to browse on grass or settling for shrubs that stand clear of the snow cover. In the winter, elk reconvene into larger herds, though males and females typically remain separate. Males with the bigger antlers, typically older animals, usually win these battles and dominate small herds. These powerful animals strip the velvet off their new antlers using them in violent clashes that determine who gets to mate with whom. Antlers and Matingĭuring the late summer breeding season the bugling of bull elk echoes through the mountains. Each cow typically has a single calf, which can stand by the time it is 20 minutes old. In early summer, elk migrate to high mountain grazing grounds where the cows (females) will give birth. While a male elk weighs about 330 kg and a female weighs 240 kg. On the other hand, a male moose can weigh up to 700 kg and a female can weigh up to 360 kg. Elk are seen to be 5 feet tall and moose are 6.5 to 7.5 feet tall. Preparation for Breeding Seasonīull elk lose their antlers each March, but they begin to grow them back in May in preparation for the late-summer breeding season. Comparatively, moose are larger in size than the elk.
A bull (male) elk's antlers may reach 4 feet above its head, so that the animal towers 9 feet tall. Elk are also called wapiti, a Native American word that means “light-colored deer.” Elk are related to deer but are much larger than most of their relatives.
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