Elk, despite their size and dominance, are remarkably nimble creatures. They can not only leap a maximum of eight feet, but they can also do so while looking stylish.
Check out how quickly this herd of elk destroys a modest fence. Since being reintroduced in the early 2000s, wild elk have been making a return in Ontario, and more and more of them have been observed east of Ottawa.
Elk are also known as “Wapiti,” which refers to the color of the animal’s rump and is an Indian term for “white.” They have the same names as cattle: cow, bull, and calf. Despite the fact that “elk” is the British term for moose, early settlers wrongly called the Wapiti “Wapiti.” Wapiti is a Shawnee Indian word that meaning “white” in reference to the color of the animal’s rump.
During the mating season in the fall, males compete for harems, often to the death. Standing on his hind legs, the bull elk will lash out with his sharp, cloven hooves.
The bulls are not only powerful, but also swift, reaching speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour), and unlike deer, they can travel through the forest nearly silently. Like a deer fawn, the calves are born with white markings to help them blend in. Throughout the year, the habitat of elk changes.
Elk prefer higher elevation alpine pastures in the summer, and lower elevations on forested slopes in densely inhabited forests in the winter.
It grows at the forest’s edge, in wetlands, and in open meadows or glades. It hides in the jungle during the day. Elk are nocturnal animals who are most active around twilight and dawn.
