The Shawnee word for elk is wapiti meaning "white rump." Elk are about 4-5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh from 325-800 lbs.
Males are much bigger than females and have branching antlers which shed and re-grow each year. Elk antlers sweep back whereas
white-tailed antlers sweep forward.
Elk are herbivores and spend a lot of time browsing. Elk are ruminants; they store partly-chewed food, later regurgitate and thoroughly
chew it. They are very social animals, living in herds. Older bulls (male elk) tend to become solitary, or stay in smaller groups, joining
the herd when the rutting season (breeding period) begins in the fall.
Bulls bugle to attract cows (female elk) and will gather a harem of cows to breed with throughout the rut. Researchers in Wisconsin
heard the first fall bugling on September 11 in 2001 and 2002. Last year, bugling began on September 5. Bulls are mature in their
second autumn, but generally wont join a harem and breed until the fourth autumn.
Cows reach mature breeding age at about 28 months. Cows are in estrus for no more than two days. A bull elk will single out and
tend to a female in estrus for 24 hours. During the rut, a bull elk will spray urine on its belly to show self-confidence to the female.
A bull may not eat, drink or sleep for the duration of the rut if there are several cows in estrus.
The gestation period for an elk is approximately eight and half months. Cows produce
one calf per year, and rarely have twins. The calves are born mid-May to mid-June.
The earliest known calf birth in Wisconsin was May 20. In 2004, DNR elk biologist,
Laine Stowell, expects about 24 calves to be born.
Cows move away from the herd to give birth, and will stay on their own for about a
month until the calf is strong enough to join the herd. Average birth weight for calves is
35 lbs. Calves are light brown with white spots, similar to white-tailed deer. Newborns
carry very little scent, helping them remain inconspicuous to predators. Calves nurse from
their mother until they are about 2 months old when they begin to add forage to their diet.
A 5 to 6 month old elk calf will be about the same size as an adult white-tailed doe.
Gray wolves and black bears are predators of the elk herd in Wisconsin. Black bears prey mainly on newborn calves whereas wolves can
bring down mature elk. Wolves are more likely to prey on juvenile animals over adults because they constitute an easier meal. Biologists
with the WDNR speculated that wolf predation greatly influences the home ranges and distributions of elk in Wisconsin. By examining the
relationship of elk locations to wolf pack territories, researchers hope to identify a pattern of elk movements in relation to predation.
Unlike other ungulates, elk have a pair of canine teeth in the upper jaw. These ivories have no real function and wear out like other teeth.
The ivories historically were used as decoration and jewelry by Native Americans.
