North American Elk
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We now have Elk at the farm all the way from north America
Description
The North American elk, or wapiti, meaning white rump, is the largest form of the red deer species. In general appearance elk are obviously kin to the well-known white-tailed deer.
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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. Cows are substantially smaller but still have a shoulder height of 135 cm and an adult weight of around 250 kg.
The colour of the elks coat ranges from reddish brown in summer to dark brown in winter. Although it looks white from a distance, on closer inspection the rump colour is ivory to orange. In contrast to the rump, the head and neck are dark. Elk have long, blackish hair on the neck that is referred to as a mane.
Male elk are notable for their impressively large antlers. 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. Antlers look particularly large in summer when they are encased in velvet—a covering that protects them during growth. In later summer, the velvet is rubbed from the fully grown antlers, revealing the bony structure. Newly cleaned antlers are light grey in colour but become stained by rubbing and thrashing through vegetation during the rutting season.
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Signs and sounds
The elk is highly vocal for an ungulate, or hoofed animal. A person close to a group of elk can hear frequent grunts and squeals as they keep in touch with each other. When alarmed the cows give sharp barks to warn the rest of the group. The whistling roar of rutting bulls is a spine-tingling sound on a frosty autumn morning.
Elk hooves are rounded and their tracks may be confused with those of yearling cattle in range country.
Elk scat, or droppings, like those of other deer, are in the form of pellets in winter, but in summer, when the animals are on new green forage, resemble those of cattle. Closer inspection, however, reveals traces of a pellet structure.
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Habitat and habits
Elk are sociable animals. They are seldom found without other elk nearby. The herd lifestyle is characteristic of animals that live in open country. However, elk population today occupy forest or parkland regions, where small groups averaging six or seven animals are common.
Elk are long-lived animals: males survive to an average of 14 years, whereas females live as long as 24 years. Although they may travel widely, each elk is strongly attached to certain localities within its home range.
Breeding
The annual cycle of the elk begins in spring with release from the snows and food shortage of winter. This is when calves are born, increasing the herd size. Calving usually occurs in areas with which the cow is very familiar. Some cows may seek the same area to calve in year after year. Others give birth to their calves wherever in their home range they happen to be when the time comes. The cows split off from other elk and seek seclusion and cover a few days before giving birth.
Elk hide their calves for 10 days or more after they are born. The calves are genetically programmed to remain quiet and concealed as a defence against predators. Later, mother and offspring join others in cow/calf bands on the summer range. Beginning in August, the quiet summer life of the elk comes to an end with the start of the rut, or breeding season.
The bulls, which have passed a lazy summer in small groups while their antlers grew large and heavy, now move into the cow/calf group and establish harems, or groups of cows they plan to mate with. In the process there is considerable fighting among the bulls. Large bulls eventually get control of as many as 20 or 30 cows and drive other males to the fringes of the herds
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