AS of the late 1900s, it was reported the elk population in North America was around 780,000. Of these, only 3,500 reside east of the Mississippi and Canada holds a similarly small number of elk. About 20,000 elk that were counted were confined to farms and ranches that raise elk for meat.

There are four subspecies of elk in North America: Rocky Mountain is the most common, followed by Roosevelt, Manitoba and Tule.

Rocky Mountain elk are prevalent throughout the Rocky Mountain region and have been transplanted into many areas to the east. The Roosevelt elk is common to western Oregon and Washington and has been transplanted to some islands in southeast Alaska. Manitoba elk can be found in central Manitoba, east central Saskatchewan and the badlands of North Dakota. Tule elk are rare and limited to some small patches of land in California.

It is said the lack of daylight during the winter months causes bulls’ testosterone levels to drop, which causes them to shed their antlers, usually in March. A mature bull’s antlers can weigh 40 pounds.

The average bull can weigh anywhere from 700 to 1100 pounds.

Elk must eat three pounds of food every day for every 100 pounds of body weight. A 900-pound bull must therefore consume 27 pounds of food every day.

“Dominant” bulls range in age from 5 to 12 years. An elk can live as long as 22 years.

Elk breed from August to late October. Dominant bulls round up “harems” of cows, and one bull can service up to 40 cows. An elk’s gestation period is about 246 days, and calves are born in May and June.

The older the cow elk, the more pregnant she will appear.