![]() It prefers damp habitats close to water bodies. Within this area it ranges from sea level up to at least 1,500 m in Europe (IUCN 2016) and generally spends the summer at higher altitudes or latitudes and concentrates in forest for the winter.Įlk is found in a range of coniferous and deciduous forest habitats, from the northern forest biomes (tundra and taiga) southwards through boreal to temperate zones. Since the 1960’s it has been slowly extending its range southwards along the rivers into the northern Caucasus lowlands. ![]() Three isolated sub-populations are found in the southern Czech Republic, and the species is occasionally recorded in Germany, Croatia, Hungary and Romania. European elk are found in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, European Russia (up to the Yenissei river), Belarus, Poland and northern Ukraine and was formerly widely distributed in Central Europe. alces is generally regarded as medium-sized with males weighing about 320 to 475 kg and females between 275 to 375 kg with shoulder height ranging from 1.7 to 2.1 m. The European subspecies of elk Alces alces spp. The name “Moose” come from the Algonquin word “ moosu” for “twig biter” or “he strips off young tree bark” (Rea and Child 2007). The word elk, like the Swedish word älg (pronounced /elj/), is taken from the Latin alces and this is derived from the Greek word “alké” which means strength (Bjärvall and Ullström 1986). European elk which is a sub-species Alces alces alces should not be confused with North American elk, Cervus canadensis, which are a different species with Alces alces commonly called moose in North America. found in the vicinity of a terrestrial pole) distribution in the boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. The Elk or Moose ( Alces alces Linnaeus, 1758) is a large ungulate belonging to the order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae which has a circumpolar (i.e. Elk also cause a significant number of road traffic accidents. However, despite extensive control of elk populations, numbers are increasing with a considerable impact on commercial forestry. ![]() Its recreational value and meat are inherent components of recreational hunting that prevails in comparison with subsistence hunting. Recently, trophy hunting has increasingly replaced traditional meat hunting. This damage causes significant losses to forestry and in most of its European range population levels are monitored and controlled through regulated hunting.Įlk is an important game species and provides an economically viable alternative to more ecologically destructive land uses, and could help accomplish the overall goals of biodiversity conservation. It is a browser and in the winter moves into the forest to feed on young shoots of conifers and the twigs and bark of deciduous shrubs and trees. It is one of the largest wild animals in Europe and is mostly restricted to the boreal zone of north-east Europe. states have reintroduced small elk herds into heavily wooded wilderness areas.Alces alces is a circumpolar species which is known as European elk in Europe and Moose in North America. Today they live primarily in western North America, especially in mountainous landscapes such as Wyoming's National Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National Park. Population DistributionĮlk were once found across much of North America but they were killed off and driven to take refuge in more remote locations. The herds return to lower valley pastures where elk spend the season pawing through snow to browse on grass or settling for shrubs that stand clear of the snow cover. In the winter, elk reconvene into larger herds, though males and females typically remain separate. ![]() ![]() Males with the bigger antlers, typically older animals, usually win these battles and dominate small herds. These powerful animals strip the velvet off their new antlers using them in violent clashes that determine who gets to mate with whom. Antlers and Matingĭuring the late summer breeding season the bugling of bull elk echoes through the mountains. Each cow typically has a single calf, which can stand by the time it is 20 minutes old. In early summer, elk migrate to high mountain grazing grounds where the cows (females) will give birth. Preparation for Breeding Seasonīull elk lose their antlers each March, but they begin to grow them back in May in preparation for the late-summer breeding season. A bull (male) elk's antlers may reach 4 feet above its head, so that the animal towers 9 feet tall. Elk are also called wapiti, a Native American word that means “light-colored deer.” Elk are related to deer but are much larger than most of their relatives. ![]()
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