During Lewis and Clark's time, elk were found in most parts of the United States.  As the party made its way up the Missouri River and its tributaries, elk seemed to be everywhere.  The party enjoyed many elk feasts!  Since then, hunters have killed so many elk, they are found mainly west of the Rockies.  Elk are now carefully managed to preserve the population.

An Indian word for elk is wapiti.   You will often find them called "wapiti" in books and stories.  Male elk are called bulls, and females are called cows.   Babies are called calves.  

Bull elk stand about five feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 700 to 1,100 pounds and grow large antlers.  Cows are smaller and don't have antlers.  Like deer, bull elk lose their antlers during the winter and grow new ones during the spring and summer.

Bulls' antlers may spread as wide as five feet!   Because of their size, elk antlers are highly prized by hunters.  During mating season, bull elk use their antlers to fight one another for leadership of a herd, which is usually about a dozen cows.

When fighting, the bulls make a terrific noise.  While on the Great Plains, Lewis wrote that "the bulls kept a tremendous roaring that we could hear for many miles, and there were such numbers, that there was one continual roar."

Elk are members of the deer family, but are much larger than our North American deer.  There are large herds of elk in and around Yellowstone Park.  Because there is not enough natural food for such a large number of animals, the Yellowstone elk are fed hay during the winter.  In the wild, they usually eat grass, but also eat twigs and needles of trees, especially during winter.