Elk (Cervus canadensis)

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American and Siberian Elk (or Wapiti)
Conservation status
Least concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Suborder: Ruminantia Family: Cervidae Subfamily: Cervinae Genus: Cervus Species: C. canadensis
Binomial name
Cervus canadensis (Erxleben, 1777)[1]

Siberian and American Elk (Cervus canadensis), are the second largest species of deer in the world, after the moose (Alces alces). Elk are also referred to as "wapiti", which is from the Native American word waapiti, or "white rump" used by the Shawnee. Elk are widely distributed across North America and Eastern Asia, and have been transplanted to other countries such as New Zealand and Argentina. American elk are not to be confused with the European animal also known as the elk, which is the moose of North America. Early European explorers to North America, who were familiar with the smaller Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) of Europe, believed that the much larger North American animal looked more like moose, which in Europe is called an elk. The renaming has become part of the common vocabulary of North Americans. In Mongolia, these animals are sometimes referred to as marals (Note: Maral, by itself, usually refers to the East European red deer (Cervus elaphus maral)). Asian populations of this animal are often known to westerners as Altai Maral (also known as Altai Wapiti), Tianshan Wapiti, Asian Wapiti, or Siberian Elk. North American populations are known as Roosevelt Elk, Tule Elk, Manitoban Elk, Rocky Mountain Elk.

Until recently, the elk and the European Red Deer were considered the same species, however, DNA evidence has demonstrated that they are in fact different. According to the study, another even more closely related species to the Elk than the Red Deer is the Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) of Asia.

Elk are one of the largest mammals that inhabit North Asia (Southern Siberia, Mongolia), temperate Eastern Asia (including Manchuria, Ussuri Region, Northern China, and Korea), and much of North America. They have a unique mating ritual in which males perform posturing, antler wrestling and especially bugling, a loud series of screams designed to help attract females and to establish dominance over other males. Elk populations are currently increasing in North America, but population figures in Eastern Asia are not well established. In some parts of the world, where elk have been transplanted, they have proven to be highly adaptable and are considered to be an invasive species that may pose a threat to existing endemic species.

[edit] Habitat

Roosevelt Elk on Redwood Creek gravel bar, in Redwood National and State Parks, California.

The wapiti and elk inhabit much of temperate Northern Asia, Eastern Asia, and North America. The most widespread are the Siberian and American Elk subspecies (C. canadensis canadensis). Today's populations are descended from a larger population of wapiti that once inhabited Beringia (or Bering Land Bridge), a steppe region between Asia and North America that connected the two continents during the Pleistocene Ice Age. This is the same land bridge that brought animals such as brown bear, caribou, and moose, and eventually Siberian/Native American peoples into North America (there are many similar species of animals that inhabit North Asia and North America to this day).^[2] As the Pleistocene Ice Age came to an end and as ocean levels began to rise, wapiti migrated southwards either into Asia or North America. The elk of North America were originally one of the most common land mammals occupying almost all habitats except for tundra, true deserts, and swamplands along the Gulf Coast. The elk of southern Siberia and Central Asia are restricted to the higher elevations of the mountain ranges west of Lake Baikal such as the Sayan Mountains and Altai Mountains of Mongolia and the Tianshan Mountain region that border Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and China's Xinjiang Province.^[3] The habitat of Siberian Elk in Asia is similar to that of the Rocky Mountain Elk population in Western North America. It is unknown as to whether or not the Siberian elk populations in the Mountainous areas west of Lake Baikal do migrate between higher and lower elevations like the Rocky Mountain elk in North America.

There are two smaller subspecies that inhabit China and Korea known as the Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis xanthopygos) and the Alashan Wapiti (Cervus canadensis alashanicus) that inhabit temperate forests. Both are forest adapted animals similar in ecology to European Red Deer. Manchurian Wapiti (also known as Manchurian Red Deer) occupy taiga and mixed deciduous forests of much of the Russian far east (Ussuri region and Yakutia, eastern Mongolia, Manchuria, northeastern China, and Korea, and they hybridize with the larger Siberian Elk near Lake Baikal north of Mongolia. The Alashan wapiti (also known as Alashan red deer) inhabits the mixed forests in the mountains and hills of northern/central China.

All wapiti subspecies, along with Sika Deer, Thorold's Deer, and some Central Asian Red Deer subspecies have historically been raised on deer farms for their antlers in Central and Eastern Asia by Han Chinese, Turkic peoples, Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Koreans.

[edit] Appearance

Eye of a Wapiti

The elk is a large ungulate (hoofed animal) and is a ruminant, eating their food in two stages and having an even number of toes on each hoof, similar to camels, goats and cattle. American and Siberian Elk at one time were divided into several subspecies, but both are very similar in their physical features (e.g., coat pattern and color, antler structure, behavior, and smell) and in their DNA. The largest of the American and Siberian Elk subspecies (C. canadensis canadensis) is the Roosevelt Elk ecotype (roosevelti race) population found west of the Cascade Range in the U.S. states of California, Oregon and Washington. The Roosevelt Elk males have also been transplanted into sections of Alaska, where they have been recorded as weighing up to 591 kilograms (1,300 lbs).^[4] The California Tule Elk ecotype (nannodes race) is relatively speaking, the smallest race of Wapitis found in North America although comparable in size to Wapitis in Asia.

There are two smaller subspecies being the Manchurian Wapiti (C. canadensis xanthopygus) and the Alashan Wapiti (C. canadensis alashanicus) that inhabit Eastern Asia. The Manchurian Wapiti is a forest animal that is darker and more reddish than the Siberian and American Elk. The Alashan Wapiti of northern/central China is the smallest and least known of all subspecies.

At birth, the newborn elk calf weighs 35 pounds (16 kg). After a few years, elk cows average 500 pounds (225 kg), stand 4-1/2 feet (1.3 m) at the shoulder, and are 6-1/2 feet (2 m) from nose to tail. In North America, male elk are called bulls, and female elk are called cows. In Asia, stag and hind are sometimes used to refer to male and female elk. Bulls are more than 25% larger than cows at maturity, weighing an average of 700 pounds (315 kg), standing 5 feet (1.5 m) at the shoulder and are 8 feet (2.4 m) in length.^[5] Elk and wapiti calves born in the spring are spotted at birth. Adult Siberian and American Elk lose all their spots by adulthood. Some forest adapted subspecies such as Manchurian Wapiti occasionally retain a few spots on the backs of their summer coats as adults. This trait is also seen in some subspecies of European Red Deer and Central Asian Red Deer.

Only the males have antlers which start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter. The largest antlers may be as much as 1.2 meters (4 ft) long and weigh 18 kilograms (40 lbs).^[6] Antlers are made of bone which can grow at a rate of 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) a day and a soft covering known as velvet helps to protect newly forming antlers in the spring. Adult elk may have six or more tines (finger-like extensions) on each antler, however the number of tines has little to do with the age or maturity of a particular specimen. All elk and wapiti have a six prong plan (six tines on each antler) with a large bez (second) tines with a bend after the third tine. The Siberian and American Elk carry the largest antlers while the Manchurian Wapiti carry the smallest in proportion to body size.^[7] The formation of antlers is testosterone-driven and as their testosterone levels drop in the fall, the velvet is shed and the antlers stop growing.^[8]

During the fall, all elk grow a thicker coat of hair which helps to insulate them during the winter. Both male and female Siberian and American elk also grow thick neck manes at this time. Siberian and American Elk also grow the longest and thickest neck manes of all red deer species and subspecies. Male Alashan and Manchurian wapiti also grow neck manes. However, females of these two subspecies resemble female red deer hinds and do not grow neck manes. All wapiti have large clearly defined rump patches with short tails. By the time summer begins, the heavy winter coat has been shed, and elk are known to rub against trees and other objects to help remove hair from their bodies. Elk also have different coloration based on the seasons and types of habitats, with grey or lighter coloration prevalent in the winter and a more reddish and darker coat in the summer.^[9]. Siberian and American Elk have lighter yellowish-brown to orangish-brown coats in contrast to dark brown hair on the head, neck, and legs during the summer. Manchurian and Alashan Wapitis, during the summer months, have foxy-red and reddish-brown coats with less contrast between the body coat and the rest of the body (head, neck, legs, rump patch).

[edit] Behavior

American elk bugling spectrogram,
— Play audio (OGG format, 25kB),
— Play audio (wav format).

Adult elk usually stay in single-sex groups for most of the year. During the mating ritual, called the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows (female elk) and will then try to defend cows that they attract. Rival bulls (male elk) challenge opponents by bellowing and walking in parallel. This allows combatants to assess each other's antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down a clash of antlers can occur, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also will dig holes in the ground, in which they will then urinate and then roll in. The urine soaks their hair and gives them a distinct rank smell which attracts cows during the rut.^[10]

Dominant bulls follow groups of cows during the rut, from August into early winter. The bulls may have as many as 20 females to keep from other less attractive males.^[11] Only mature bulls hold harems (groups of hinds) and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls two to four years old rarely hold harems and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems, as do bulls over 11 years old. Young and old bulls that do acquire a harem hold it later in the breeding season than those bulls in their prime. Harem holding bulls rarely feed and lose up to 20% of their body weight. Bulls that enter the rut in poor condition are less likely to make it through to the peak conception period.^[10]

Male elk have distinctive "bugling" which can be heard for miles, and is used to keep his harem of females together. Bugling is often associated with an adaptation to open environments such as parklands, meadows, and savannas where sound can resonate from afar. The females are initially attracted to those males that both bugle most often and have the loudest bugle call. Males also use the bugle call when competing with other males for females during the rut, and along with other forms of posturing and antler fights, is a method used by the males to establish dominance.^[12] Bugling is most common during the early dawn and late evening.

[edit] Breeding, gestation and lifespan

Female "cow" nursing young.

Elk mating patterns usually involve a dozen or more mating attempts before the first successful one. There may be several more matings before the bull will seek out another mate in his harem. Females in their second autumn can produce one and very rarely two offspring per year. The gestation period is 240 and 262 days and the offspring weigh between 15 and 16 kilograms (33 to 35 lbs). After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd and are fully weaned after two months.^[13] Female offspring outnumber male offspring more than two to one and all elk calves are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and lose their spots by the end of summer. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost one full year, leaving around the time that the next season offspring are produced.^[12] The gestation period is the same for all subspecies.

Elk live up to over 20 years in captivity and average 10 to 13 years in the wild, though some subspecies that have less predation pressure average 15 years.^[14]

[edit] DNA studies on Subgenus Cervus (Red Deer, Asian Red Deer, and Wapiti subspecies)

Bull Elk on a captive range in Nebraska. These elk are originally from the Rocky Mountain herds and their behavior patterns are modified due to being in captivity, where less environmental pressures occur.

Biologists have until recently stated that red deer and elk are the same species, namely Cervus elaphus, based on fertile hybrids that have been produced under captive conditions. Animal behavior is generally different in captivity than in the wild, and the assumption that the same results would happen in the wild as in captivity is not necessarily the best test methodology to determine speciation. Recent DNA studies conducted on hundreds of samples from red deer and elk subspecies determined that there are three distinct species and divides them into the East Asian/North American Red Deer (Elk or Wapiti) (Cervus canadensis), Central Asian Red Deer (C. affinis), and European Red Deer (C. elaphus). Additionally, the DNA evidence also supports that there are three species of Red Deer.

Recently, DNA evidence has supported the division of the C. elaphus (Red Deer) species into two and possibly three separate species.^[15] The previous species classification had over a dozen subspecies of related animals under the C. elaphus species name, however the DNA evidence proves that elk are more closely related to Central Asian Red Deer (C. affinis) and even the Sika Deer (C. nippon) than they are to the European Red Deer (C. elaphus). Though elk and red deer can produce fertile offspring under controlled circumstances, geographic isolation between the subspecies as well as modifications to mating behavior due to habitat and other influences, indicates that reproduction between the red deer and the elk in the wild would be far less likely to occur than would reproduction within their own subspecies.^[7]

Elk are believed to number over 1 million in North America and maybe half that many more in east Asia and as transplants in places like New Zealand, Argentina and Chile. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has identified the Alashan Wapiti subspecies (C. canadensis alashanicus) of Elk as being without enough data to establish its endangered status.^[16]

[edit] Protection from predators

Male elk retain their antlers for more than half the year and are less likely to group with other males when they have antlers. The antlers provide self defense as does a strong front-leg kicking action which is performed by both sexes when attacked. Once the antlers are shed, bulls tend to form bachelor groups which allow them to cooperatively work together. Herds tend to have one or more members watching for potential danger while the remaining members eat and rest.^[12]

After the rut, females form large herds of up to 50 individuals. The newborn calves are kept close to the hinds by a series of vocalizations between the two, and larger nurseries have an ongoing and constant chatter during the daytime hours. When approached by predators, the largest and most robust females may make a stand, using their front legs to kick at their attackers. Guttural grunts and posturing is used with all but the most determined of predators with great effectiveness. Aside from man, wolf and coyote packs and the solitary Mountain lion, are the most dangerous of predators that most elk and wapiti encounter. Occasionally, the Brown bear, grizzly and the American black bear will predate on elk as well.^[12] Studies in Montana and Yellowstone Park have demonstrated that most predation on calves is by black bears.^{[citation needed]} Major predators in Asia include wolves, dholes, brown bears, Siberian tigers, Amur leopards, and snow leopards. Eurasian Lynx and wild boars sometimes prey on the calves of wapiti in Asia.

[edit] Distribution and habitat

Audubon's Eastern Elk.

Cervus genus ancestors of elk first appear in fossil records 12 million years ago during the Pliocene in Eurasia but do not appear in the North American fossil records until about 12,000 years ago, when they crossed the Bering land bridge.^[17][18] An extinct species, known as the Irish Elk (Megaloceros) was not an elk at all, but simply the largest member of the deer family known from the fossil record.^[19]

Over time, several groups of elk in North America became isolated from one another, forming distinct behavioral characteristics to suit the environment. Over predation of many elk brought the Eastern Elk ecotype (canadensis race) to extinction, and the Merriam's Elk ecotype (merriami race) of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico eventually succumbed to extinction around 1900.^[20] In the early 1900s concerned sportsmen foresaw the eventual demise of many game animals and sought, and implemented, hunting seasons and limits, which saved many species which would have otherwise perished.

Elk are one of the largest game animals found in Asia and North America. They live in open forest and near forest boundaries in similar environment as other deer species such as moose, caribou, sika deer (in Asia), Siberian Roe Deer (in Asia), Mule Deer (in North America), and White-tailed Deer (in North America). In mountainous regions, they are known to inhabit high elevations during the summer, and in winter they gather at lower altitudes. The highly adaptable elk also inhabit arid regions in North American such as the Great Basin.

Elk are found throughout North America, especially in the Rocky Mountain region. Reintroduced Rocky Mountain Elk ecotype (nelsonirace) in Appalachian region of the eastern United States where the now extinct Eastern Elk ecotype (canadensis race) once lived, have dispersed from Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee, into the neighboring states of Virginia and West Virginia, and these herds appear to be growing steadily in population.^[21] As of 1989, population figures for Rocky Mountain Elk ecotype alone were 782,500 and estimated numbers for all North American subspecies exceeded 1 million.^[22] Prior to European colonization of North America, there were an estimated 10 million elk on the continent.^[5]

Elk were introduced to Argentina in the early 20th century and are considered a nuisance animal there for the most part. The highly adaptable elk have encroached on habitat in Argentina, and use up food supplies that normally would be consumed by the indigenous Huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and other herbivores.^[23] This negative impact on native animal species has led the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources to identify the elk as one of the worlds 100 worst invaders.^[24] In New Zealand, and to a much lesser degree in Australia, introduced elk have adapted well, and hunting is extensive.

[edit] Migration

Elk wintering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming after migrating there during the fall.

Elk migration in the lower 48 states of the United States has been, for many decades, the largest migration of mammals since the near extermination of the Bison in the late 1800s. What is known as the Yellowstone herd numbers up to 10,000 individuals. Each fall, the elk in Montana and Idaho as well as northern Wyoming begin a migration that has been a seasonal occurrence for thousands of years. Prior to the establishment of the town of Jackson, Wyoming, the herd would migrate south through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as well as surrounding National Forests through where the town of Jackson now resides and into grasslands more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) to the south. However, since the town now impedes this natural migration route, most of the herd spends the winter at a much higher altitude than they historically did. Just outside the town limits, the National Elk Refuge was established, and conservationists there ensure the herd is well fed during the harsh winters.^[25]

[edit] Health issues

Brainworm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) is a parasitic nematode that has been known to affect the spinal cord and brain tissue of elk, leading to death. The nematode has a carrier in the White-tailed Deer, in which it usually has no ill effects, but it is carried by snails, which are inadvertently consumed during grazing.^[26] Chronic Wasting Disease affects the brain tissue in elk, and has been detected throughout their range in North America. First documented in the late 1960s in Mule Deer, Chronic Wasting Disease has affected the elk on game farms and in the wild in a number of regions. Elk that have contracted the disease begin to show weight loss, increased watering needs, disorientation and listlessness, and at an advanced stage the disease leads to death. The disease is similar to but not the same as mad cow disease, and no dangers to humans have been documented, nor has the disease been demonstrated to pose a threat to domesticated cattle.^[27] Brucellosis is another disease that occasionally affects Red Deer in North America, but is much more common in Bison.

[edit] Elk in folklore

The elk is depicted in pictographs and petroglyphs throughout North America.^[28]

[edit] Elk products

Bull elk in the early spring are shedding their heavy winter coats and their antlers are covered in velvet in this early stage of growth.

Elk are held in captivity for a variety of reasons. In some circumstances, hunting interests set aside game farms, where hunters can pay a fee and be essentially guaranteed a chance to shoot an elk, as they are fenced in and have less opportunity to escape. Elk meat is not generally harvested for human consumption on a large scale, though specialty restaurants seasonally offer elk meat which is widely considered to be both flavorful and nutritious, having a taste somewhere between beef and venison. Elk is higher in protein and lower in fat than either beef or chicken.^[29] In some countries in central Asia, elk is still hunted as a primary source of meat.

The elk can produce 22 to 25 pounds (10 to 11 kg) of antler velvet annually and on ranches in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, this velvet is collected and sold to markets in east Asia, where it is used for holistic medicines, with South Korea being the primary consumer. The antlers themselves are also believed by East Asians to have medicinal purposes and is often ground up and used in small quantities. The antlers are also highly sought after worldwide for decorative purposes and have been used for artwork, furniture and other novelty items.

[edit] See also

• Marals
• Red Deer - European Red Deer
• Central Asian Red Deer - Asian/Himalayan/Tibetan Red Deer
• Sika Deer
• Thorold's Deer

[edit] References cited

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cervus canadensis

[edit] External links

• Red deer in New Zealand
• Elk Hunting in Montana at EcoRover blog
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation