Elk
Native to: North America, Eastern Asia
Slowly spreading to Western Europe too (Southern Sweden, Alps)
When I first came to Canada, I couldn’t distinguish an elk from a moose. A very common problem I found out soon. Here some facts about elk:
The Elk, or also Wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family. Elk are browsers as well as grazes´, and prefer open woodlands and avoid dense unbroken forests. They are very social animals and seldomly fount without another elk nearby.
Elk are the most vocal deer. Calf’s and cows keep in contact with squeals and mew. A bull elk sends out a high-pitched roar followed by low coughs or grunts.
A mature bull can run as fast as 65 km per hour – they’ve even been able to outrun horses in short races.
The antlers of the elk are the fastest growing bone of any mammal, growing as much as 2,5 cm per day during the summer.
Apparently, Elk can count to 10. Scientists have noticed that when a female elk is presented with the choice between a bull with nine antler points and 10 antler points, she’ll almost always select the bull with 10 points.
Behind the lens: Elk in Jasper
During our winter in Canada, we saw many, many elk. Unfortunately, we just started with photography back then and some of the first sightings we just captured with our phones.
What I loved most about Canada was, that is completely normal to see Elks walking down the road in front of you. How amazing to live in a place where wildlife is always the priority.
While our stay in Canada we drove twice the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper – one of the most beautiful drives on this planet. And Jasper itself is a place just out of heaven. You can just walk around town or drive to one of the many lakes in the area and you will see plenty of wildlife.
When we visited Jasper for the second time, we just arrived before than and ran right away in the group of cow elks next to the train tracks.
The clouds disappeared for a short second and we could see the mighty mountain range which surrounds this amazing town.
The bull elks were a little further on the way to medicine lake. They were just calmly grazing next to the road while tons of outdoor photographers stand in front of them to take pictures.
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Elk
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Animal Photography
