The Elk, or Wapiti (Cervus canadensis), is the largest deer in North America after the moose. Adult bull elk can weigh as much as 408kg (900lb) and 1.5m tall at the shoulder (5ft) depending on the subspecies.
There are 6 subspecies of elk, 2 of which a extinct. They include: The Rocky Elk (pictured), Roosevelt's Elk, Tule Elk, Manitoban Elk, Merriams Elk (extinct), and Eastern (Extinct).
Nice rack!
Every year a bull elk will grow a new set of antlers. These antlers can weigh up to 18kg (40lb) and are an important assest during the rut.
During the rut, the time of year when males are competing for mates, cow elk and their young will form harems wit one or two mature males.To maintain their harem bulls will fight rivals, sometimes to the death. To advertise to other elk males will produce loud clear calls and soak themselves in urine. The elk will then mate in the Fall and and calves will be born around June.
checking out some lovely lady rumps
The elk pictured below was trying to poke a few holes in a car that got too close during the rut. At this time of year elk can become extremely aggressive and protective of their harem. It is important that they are shown respect.
Historically, more than 10 million elk are believed to have roamed the United States and Canada, however, after the arrival of Europeans that number has dropped to about one million. This is most likely due to over hunting and habitat destruction.
make sure you get my good side
The elk in these images was photographed during one of our adventures in Jasper, Alberta.
The information in this post was obtained from:
The Canadian Encyclopedia and RMEF
All images in this post were taken by and remain the Copyright of Ryan Sault unless stated otherwise. You can see more photos at:
website: https://saultphotography.com/
Instagram: @roaming.rammie
What wonderful animals, and those antlers are spectacular. I do not understand how there are people who prefer to hunt them, seeing them alive is more rewarding.
Oh i 100% agree! I always get such a thrill seeing them in the wild! And he's obviously big and healthy, much more valuable alive than dead.
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We appreciate your work and your post has been manually curated by zoology team (oscurity,nelinoeva) on behalf of Amazing Nature Community. Keep up the good work!
good work learning about the species! keep sharing content like this!
Thanks so much. I really appreciate it
My wife and I go cross country skiing in the Prince Albert National Park and usually see at least 1 in the bush. Luckily for us they're more interested in munching away on whatever they have than us(I'm not a fast skier).
Oh wow! That would be so amazing to see. Although I'm glad they are more interested in their food. I would hate to be on the receiving end of those antlers.
I miss those guys. There are almost no land mammals in the eastern caribbean. Some islands have Opossums, others have some old world monkeys which were released ~400 years ago after being pets of slaves coming over with the slave trade. A few micro bats. I guess small volcanic islands don't lend themselves to large mammals.
That seems to be common in most island nations. I suppose they just dont have the resources to support large mammals.
I did not know these interesting tips about this species! we liked the post!
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Hello @inavan!Wow such an amazing post ❤️
Just loved it , all those photographs you capture were stunning and mind blowing 🔥 i personally liked it so much you have got very good photography skills.
Thankyou so much for sharing this post.🙏 Keep growing 👍🏻
Love from the Himalayas 🙏
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Spectacular, I have not seen such a fascinating photo of The Elk.
Thank you for sharing these experiences.
Regards
Thank you! I'm really happy you enjoyed it. They are pretty regal looking animals.