Species: Cervus canadensis

Elk

Species

Mammals

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Terrestrial vertebrates: mammals

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Artiodactyla

Family

Cervidae

Genus

Cervus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.768964

Classification

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Artiodactyla - Cervidae - Cervus - See Cronin (1991) for a phylogeny of the Cervidae based on mitochondrial-DNA data. See Kraus and Miyamoto (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis of pecoran ruminants (Cervidae, Bovidae, Moschidae, Antilocapridae, and Giraffidae) based on mitochondrial DNA data.

Ecology and Life History

Migration

false - true - false - In mountainous regions, summers in alpine meadows, winters in valleys. On more level terrain, seeks wooded hillsides in summer, open grasslands in winter. Pacific coast populations are more sedentary than are those elsewhere. Migrates from areas with deep snow. Some individuals in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, migrate up to 97 kilometers annually (Adams 1982).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Much geographic and seasonal variation in diet. Primarily a grazer, but also consumes forbs (in summer, or in fall and winter in northern Great Plains region) and may browse on willow, aspen, oak, etc., where grasses are unavailable. Also commonly feeds on mushrooms, especially in late summer and fall (Great Basin Nat. 52:321).

Reproduction Comments

Mature males defend female herd during rut (September-October). Older dominant males do most of mating. Females breed at 2 years. Most births (late spring) are single, but twins are common. Gestation lasts 249-262 days.

Ecology Comments

Home range of nonmigratory herd 1.8-5.3 sq km. Rarely moves more than 1600 m in one day. Exhibits high fidelity to home range, but may abandon it if excessively disturbed. Gregarious, though some bulls may be solitary. Calf predators include grizzly, black bear, and coyote.

Length

297

Weight

495000

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-19

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-19

Other Status

PS - (Kashmir stag; Kashmir) are listed by USFWS as Endangered.

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Formerly widespread in Canada and the United States, now mostly restricted to the West, with small reintroduced populations elsewhere. Introduced in Russia and New Zealand (Grubb, in Wilson and Reeder 2005).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.768964