Elk can be pale gray, tan,
or brown. They have thin legs and a thick neck. Their lower
fur is usually dark brown. Their rear end is light tan.
Adult elk are about 5 feet high and 9 feet long.
Male elk are called
bulls. They can weight more than 1000 pounds.
Their huge antlers can weigh 25 pounds. Bulls
lose their antlers in the spring. They grow new
ones that are covered with soft velvet. Female
elk are called cows. They are much smaller than
bulls. Elk cows usually have two calves that are
born in early summer.
An elk baby is called
a calf. A calf has light brown fur and white spots.
After a year, the spots are gone.
What
do elk eat?
Elk eat all kinds of
plants. They usually eat grass, but they also eat
twigs.
Where
can I find an elk?
A long time ago
elk were found all over North America. Hunters
killed many elk. For a while there were only a
few left in the Rocky Mountains. Elk are now mainly
found in western North America.
Elk move in herds. In
the spring and summer they are in the high mountains. In
the fall they move down the mountains. The males and female
are usually separate. They travel together in the winter.
Bull elk can move silently through forests at speeds up
to 35 mph. Both bulls and cows are strong swimmers.
Who are
the friends and enemies of an elk?
Natural enemies of elk include
wolves and cougars. Bears and coyotes kill some calves and
sick adults.
Many of the larger
elk herds in the U.S. and Canada are overpopulated.
Sometimes there's not enough food to the big herds.
Some elk get sick and die.
Website
of the international wildlife conservation
organization whose mission is to ensure
the future of elk, other wildlife, and
their habitat. Includes lots of elk facts.
Note: All photographs taken
with a digital camera in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
(May-June 1999) and Yellowstone National Park , Wyoming
(July 1999).