Elk
Cervus canadensis
Appearance
Otherwise known as ‘Wapiti’ (named by the Shawnee for the animals’ noticeable white rump), elk are members of the deer family and can be 140 centimetres tall at shoulder height. Their fur is mainly brown and they have a long neck with a long head. The males will grow antlers and the females are about ten per cent smaller than the males, on average.
Range & Habitat
Elk are found throughout southern B.C. and into the United States, Colorado and the eastern plains. From the grasslands to the ponderosa pine forest, these animals stay cool during the summer by staying high in the mountains and moving down to feed in the grasslands in the winter.
Reciprocal Relationships
Elk help maintain balance through grazing on vegetation. Elk are herbivores, and they eat shrubs and grasses such as bunchgrasses throughout the year and occasionally chew on aspen, sumac, and jack pine bark in the winter. They keep these shrub and grass levels low to the ground which can help prevent high severity fires. This is because they reduce the potential for fire to go from the ground to the tops of trees.
Elk also holds the gift of togetherness; these beings are quite social animals. They move in large herds while traveling within their range and usually bucks (male elk) move separately from cows (female elk). There can be anywhere between 10 and tens of thousands of elk in a single herd.
There are two varieties of elk in B.C. Roosevelt elk are found on and around Vancouver Island, and the Rocky Mountain elk are found elsewhere in B.C.
Many people hunt elk, either for sustenance or for sport. Human disturbances often keep away elk, as they are cautious of noise. For the Shuswap people, elk are not only a vital food source, but their antlers are used as root-digging sticks, and hollowed-out bones could be carved into needles and awls.
Elk also holds the gift of togetherness; these beings are quite social animals. They move in large herds while traveling within their range and usually bucks (male elk) move separately from cows (female elk). There can be anywhere between 10 and tens of thousands of elk in a single herd.
There are two varieties of elk in B.C. Roosevelt elk are found on and around Vancouver Island, and the Rocky Mountain elk are found elsewhere in B.C.
Many people hunt elk, either for sustenance or for sport. Human disturbances often keep away elk, as they are cautious of noise. For the Shuswap people, elk are not only a vital food source, but their antlers are used as root-digging sticks, and hollowed-out bones could be carved into needles and awls.
Photo Credit
Jens Wieting
More Information
If you belong to a First Nation with a story or piece of information not represented here and you would like to share more about this species, please email us at education@sierraclub.bc.ca.
