IS IT A DEER OR IS IT A WILD ELK? 

  Photos and text by

             Annemarie Eveland   

      According to Webster, “elk” (which can refer to one or many) is a large gregarious deer from North America, Europe, Asia, and NW Africa. So, in that arena, elk are deer. The word elk has been through many changes. One reference says it was “eolhh” or “elch” as old English derived from the old High German “elaho.”

So, what are the differences between an elk and a moose? Moose are dark brown, while elk are light brown or even yellowish. Moose have large noses and a “bell” under their throat; elk have narrower noses. Moose are far more skittish when approached by humans than elk. I have found this to be true of our neighborhood “elk-dom.” Even early on, when they first started arriving, they would cautiously look up and look us over, or move slowly away, but not furtively, and jump and run away. 

Scientifically speaking, elk are Cervus Conodensis, one of the largest species in the deer family (Cervidae), and reside in the largest group of mammal animals. They are herbivores and live about eight to twelve years. They were once very common in North America but were killed off or driven to remote areas. Today, they live mostly in the mountains in western areas of North America. Both the words elk and moose are kept the same when referring to the singular or plural.

It helps to understand where our words are derived from. 

The words  “eolh or elch” evolved from Old High German meaning “stag.” However, in Europe, elk is commonly used to describe a moose. In American history of the 16th century, elk was assigned to a subspecies of reddish-colored deer. The Native Americans called elk “wapiti” (light-colored deer.) Wapiti means “white rump.” Their name Wapiti was derived from Shawnee and Cree words.

The male elk grow large antlers, and it was amazing to me to learn that every year they shed their heavy huge “racks.” Their antlers are made of bone and continue growing daily. When they are growing their antlers, there is a soft layer of skin that carries blood vessels to other areas. In the summer, this covering is shed. The growth of antlers is driven by the testosterone in the elk, and so after the “rut” season, in late winter or early spring, their testosterone levels drop causing the antlers to shed. In the fall, they grow a thicker coat of hair to insulate them during winter. By early summer they’ve shed their winter coats (much like we don’t wear ours any longer!) They tend to rub against trees to remove their fur. Elk grow thin neck manes. Their baby calves are born spotted and lose their spots by the end of summer.

Elk have thick bodies with slender legs and males are larger weighing in at about 392 to 1,096 pounds. They also have about six prongs (tines) on each of their antlers. Our area elk have the largest antlers. 

I was surprised to learn that elk are a very gregarious deer species, and sometimes summertime groups can be 400. But the rest of the year, adult males are segregated into different small groups or sometimes alone. Young bulls may join either male or female groups. The female herds are larger but come together during mating season which may begin in late August. 

That is the time the bulls (males) begin engaging in intimidating other rivals by displaying their antlers and vocalizing sounds. If both bulls refuse to back down, they begin “antler wrestling.” This sometimes causes serious injuries. Their high-pitched whistle-like sound (bugling), may reach 4000HZ. They produce this bugling by blowing air 

from the opening between the vocal cords (glottis) through the larynx during the “rut” season from August to early winter.

A bull elk gathers up his females known as a “harem.” He will defend his harem from predators and those other bulls that are competing for his cows. I was again surprised to learn that the bulls dig big holes in the ground (wallows) in which they urinate and roll their bodies to get all their scent on themselves. Since his urethra points upward, the urine sprays on his hair and thus gives him a distinctive smell, which tends to attract the cows to him. 

The bull elk connects with his harem by herding them along and if one gets wandering off, he rushes ahead, blocks her, and strongly herds her back to his harem. His neck is lowered and stretched out and he lays his antlers back or may hit the cow with his antlers. 

But when courting the female, he will lift his head and antlers. He tests her for sexual receptivity by flicking his tongue. If she’s not receptive, she’ll lower her head, weaving side to side, and continue to open and close her mouth. He will stop so he doesn’t scare her. But if okay, he will copiously lick the female and then mount her. 

The female elk (cow) has a short estrus cycle (in heat) of only a day or two in which the mating may have a dozen or more attempts to impregnate the female. A female (cow) normally produces one offspring and it is very rare to see two. The gestation period is 8-9 months with the new babies weighing in at about 35 lbs. The female tends to isolate from the herd when ready to birth and she stays away until the calf is large enough to be safe from the predators. Predators are wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, and tigers. 

Though the calf is born spotted, it will lose its spots by the end of the summertime. They are fully weaned at two months and join the herd after only two-week time after their birth. And after six months they are as large as a white-tailed deer!

Elk tend to migrate to higher elevations in the spring, and back down in the fall. They tend to be grazers, feeding on low-to-the-ground grasses and such. They also “browse,” or eat leaves off trees, bushes, shrubs, etc. This adaptability helps them from predators as when they are browsing they can see animals coming towards them ahead of time, but if their noses and mouths are closed to the ground in grazing, they are more vulnerable. 

Now that we have explored the more scientific aspects of the elk, I am adding my personal experiences of the elk right here in the Rim Country from this season. 

For several months now I have been excited to walk around our lake at 5 am and discover these incredible animals are already out and about. I see them nibbling the clover, the grass, the wild edible greenery. They are easily seen munching down on the bushes, low and high, and they have especially enjoyed stretching to get the apples on the trees in our community. No one seems to mind, since they are not harvesting apples for their use. Elk often come in small herds. I see some have challenges like the one whose antlers had been caught in a net (could be a volleyball net or fishing net, I could not tell) and another elk whose one antler was bent way forward over his face and to feed he had to turn sideways to reach the grasses to munch. Both seemed to adapt to their lot in life and continue along. A good lesson for us humans when faced with challenges in our senior years. They have plenty to eat here at Green Valley Lake/Park in Payson; lots of greenery which is their diet as herbivores. 

I noticed the landscapers weren’t mowing as much around this area and I was thinking they let the lawns grow a little longer for our visiting elk. Hurrah for Humans. I hope that your visit with the elk is amazing and safe!