Elk specs:
Name for male, female, and young
Bull, Cow, CalfFemale adult weight
500 lbs 
Male adult weight
700 lbs
Neonate weight
30 lbs
Young to adult size ratio
1:17
Male to female size ratio
1.4:1
Age range
26
Geriatric age
18
Weapons
Antlers
Average number of offspring
1
Max number of offspring
2
Length of gestation
250 days
Timing of parturition (i.e., birth)
Mid May-late June
Age of first reproduction
2 (occasionally 1)
Timing of rut
September
Social or solitary
Hider or follower
Harem holder or tending bond
Browser or grazer
Primary summer food
Carex spp. (Sedges), Agropyron spp. (Wheatgrass; including Pseudoroegneria spicata),
Primary winter food
Carex spp. (Sedges), Agropyron spp. (Wheatgrass; including Pseudoroegneria spicata), Cercocarpus spp. (Mountain Mahogany)
Migration strategy
Migratory or resident
Primary predator
Mountain Lion, wolves
Common disease(s)
Brucellosis, chronic wasting disease (CWD), meningeal worm
Winter habitat
Lower elevation valleys with mixed-shrub and grassland habitats
Summer habitat
Various habitats at higher elevations
Icon credits: DNA by LAFS from the Noun Project, Food Chain by James Keane from the Noun Project
Picture credit: Pseudoroegneria spicata by Dana Visalli, mountain mahogany by Ken DeCamp
Pubs!
Make a pub(lications) crawl through our recent findings:
Lamont, B. G., K. L. Monteith, J. A. Merkle, Tony W. Mong, S. Albeke, M. Hayes, and M. Kauffman. 2019. Multi-scale habitat selection of elk in response to beetle-killed forest. Journal of Wildlife Management.
LaSharr, T. N., R. A. Long, J. R. Heffelfinger, V. C. Bleich, P. R. Krausman, R. T. Bowyer, J. M. Shannon, E. M. Rominger, C. P. Lehman, M. Cox, and K. L. Monteith. 2019. Biological relevance of antler, horn, and pronghorn size in records programs. Journal of Mammalogy.
Research: our current projects
Deer-Elk Ecology Research Project
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Species distribution:
Most elk occur in the western region of North America, but there are several reintroduced populations in various states, such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri.
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