- Elk
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- Elk are part of the deer family.
- What does an elk
look like?
- 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.
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- 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.
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- An elk baby is called a calf. A calf
has light brown fur and white spots. After a year, the spots are gone.
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- What do elk eat?
Elk eat all kinds of plants. They usually
eat grass, but they also eat twigs.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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More
Information
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Note: All photographs
taken with a digital camera in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
(May-June 1999) and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (July 1999).
Developed by
Annette Lamb
and Larry Johnson,
6/99. Updated 4/02.
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