Males advertise this territory, and their status, through bugling. They defend a kind of 'moving territory' around the harem. Larger and more dominant males are able to maintain larger harems of females and restrict access to them. Dominant males form 'harems', small groups of female deer that they will mate with. Shortly before the fall rut (breeding season), in late September and early October, male elk lose the velvet on their antlers and begin to compete for access to females. These animals are found in the following types of habitat.They are found through a wide range of elevations, typically from sea level to 3000 m, although they can also occur at higher elevations. Elk can be found in coniferous swamps, clear cuts, aspen-hardwood forests, and coniferous-hardwood forests. Elk have been introduced to Ireland, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand.Д®lk prefer open woodlands and avoid dense unbroken forests. Their traditional range extended from 65 degrees N in Norway to 33 degrees N in Africa. In Eurasia elk populations are now confined to protected areas and less populated regions. Various elk populations in the western United States, including Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, contributed to the reestablishment. Elk were reestablished in the eastern United States, including Michigan, with three transplantations throughout the 1900's. Today large populations in North America are found only in the western United States from Canada through the Eastern Rockies to New Mexico, and in a small region of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Elk populations in eastern North America were extirpated largely as a result of overhunting. Extensive hunting and habitat destruction have limited elk to a portion of their former range. Average basal metabolic rate 112.43 W AnAgeД®lk, or red deer, were once found throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe through northern Africa, Asia, and North America.Males weigh from 178 to 497 kg, averaging 331 kg. Females weigh from 171 to 292 kg, averaging 241 kg. Most males are 10 percent larger than females and may weigh twice as much. With a thick body, short tail and long slender legs, most elk stand approximately 0.75 to 1.5 m high at the shoulder and are 1.6 to 2.7 m from nose to tail. A dark shaggy mane hangs from the neck to the chest. Elk generally have a long head with large ears and widely branching antlers as long as 1.1 to 1.5 m from tip to tip are found on males only. The head, neck, belly, and legs are darker than both the back and sides. Elk range in color from dark brown in winter to tan in summer and have a characteristic buff colored rump.

Elk animal