Elk
Family Tree
Elk is a large species of deer..
Size and Life Expectancy
Bulls can be up to 700 lbs (225 kg) and five feet (1.5 m) at the shoulder. Cows are a little smaller. They live about ten to fifteen years in the wild and up to twenty in captivity.
Range and Habitat
Rocky mountain elk live mostly in Western North America. Siberian elk live in north eastern Asia. Elk live in a wide variety of forests and grasslands.
Diet
Elk eat grass and shrubs and tree bark and leaves.
Predators
Wolves, coyotes, brown bears, cougars, black bears, Siberian tigers (Siberian elk).
Extra Fun Facts
Bulls fight with each other over control of the cows by attacking each other with their antlers. Their antlers fall off in March and start to grow in May and are fully grown by late summer for breeding time. Elk have two different coats: one for winter and one for summer. The hair of the summer coat is short and the winter coat has two layers: a long and waterproof outer layer of hair and a short and curly underlayer.