What do elk look like?

Cow elk can weigh more than 500 pounds, stand 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder and measure 6.5 feet from nose to rump. A bull elk can weigh 700 pounds, stand 5 feet at the shoulder and measure more than 8 feet from nose to rump. An elks color ranges from copper brown to tan.

What do elk eat?

Elk and other members of the deer family eat tough plants such as grass or twigs that most other mammals can't digest. They digest these plants in multi-chambered stomachs, a trait of the suborder Ruminantia. (Cattle, sheep and their wild cousins are also ruminants.) It's advantageous for elk to be versatile in their feeding habits because, on average, an elk must eat about three pounds (1.4 kg) of food per day for every 100 pounds (45 kg) it weighs. For a cow elk, that can add up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of plants in 24 hours, depending on the time of year and location. Their diets vary the with the season and location. Generally, elk eat grasses and parts of woody plants in winter; grass in spring and fall; grass and forbs (low-growing, soft-stemmed plants) in summer.

Where do elk live?

Although we primarily see elk in mountainous and forested terrain today, they are also well suited to open spaces. Some scientists believe that an elk's body and senses reflect adaptations for the lifestyle of a herd animal that may have once roamed the plains for its food.