BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Cervis elaphus | Elk 



TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : 
Mating Season - September through October, may continue into November
Birthing Season - late May or early June; twinning is rare 
Gestation - 8 to 8 1/2 months 
Age of Maturity - females usually breed 1 1/2 years; young
                  males may not breed due to competition with older males
Lifespan - beyond 20 years; mean life expectancy is about 10 years
Antlers - males only; begin shedding in March and continues into April;
          males in good condition shed earlier than those in poor
          condition; younger males usually shed before older males
[1,5,42,46]


PREFERRED HABITAT : 
Because elk have had an historically wide distribution, their preferred
habitat also varies widely [44].  Populations in the mountainous West
tend to inhabit coniferous forests associated with rugged, broken
terrain or foothill ranges.  During summer elk spend most of their time
in high mountain meadows in the alpine or subalpine zones or in
streambottoms [1].  In the Pacific Northwest elk prefer the more dense,
coniferous rainforests, while Southwestern populations can be found in
open shrublands.  Studies of elk slope preferences indicate that elk use
a variety of slope percents, although they choose slopes in the 15 to 30
percent class most frequently [44].  Elk may use more open areas during
spring and summer because of earlier spring green-up [17].  During hot
summer months, elk seek shaded, cool habitats [29].


COVER REQUIREMENTS : 
Elk need cover for protection against heat and extreme cold, as well as
hiding and calving cover.  Ideal cover is grasslands or meadows
interspersed with forests that have large amounts of edge [44].  Elk use
of open areas tends to decrease at 110 yards (100 m) from cover.
Calving cover requirements vary from place to place and within
populations [44].  Security or hiding cover is necessary in places of
human disturbance [41].  Wisdom and others [50] and Canfield and others
[9] listed factors that determine adequate cover for elk in Oregon and
Montana, respectively.


FOOD HABITS : 
Elk are ruminant herbivores; their food habits are extremely variable
throughout their range.  Some elk populations prefer to graze, while
others rely more heavily on browse.  Grasses and forbs are preferred
during spring and early summer, and woody browse is preferred during
winter.  Elk browse conifers in areas where snow covers other forage.
Some important elk foods include [40]:  eriogonum (Eriogonum spp.),
tidytips (Layia spp.), blazing-star (Mentzelia spp.), scalebud
(Anisocoma acaulis), five hook bassia (Bassia hyssopifolia), alkali
mallow (Sida hederacea), black alfalfa (Medicago sativa), antelope
bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus),
galleta (Hilaria jamesi), knotgrass (Paspalum distichum), bigleaf
sandwort (Arenaria macrophylla), spotted cat's-ear (Hypochoeris
radicata), buckthorn plantain (Plantago lanceolata), trefoil foamflower
(Tiarella trifoliata), cowparsnip (Heracleum lanatum), sedges (Carex
spp.), wildrye (Elymus spp.), maple (Acer spp.), huckleberry and
blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), larkspur (Delphinium spp.), western
goldthread (Coptis occidentalis), lupine (Lupinus spp.), penstemon
(Penstemon spp.), clover (Trifolium spp.), wheatgrass (Agropyron spp.),
brome (Bromus spp.), bluegrass (Poa spp.), sagebrush (Artemisia spp.),
ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.), current (Ribes spp.), and quaking aspen
(Populus tremuloides).


PREDATORS : 
Elk predators include humans, wolves (Canis lupus), coyotes (Canis
latrans), black bears (Ursus americanus), grizzly bears (U. arctos), and
mountain lions (Felis concolor) [46].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Elk can damage a range from overgrazing, as well as damage tree
plantations, crops, orchards, and haystacks [8,36].  Elk compete with
cattle and may completely avoid using pastures grazed by livestock
[20,36].  Elk can suffer from many fungal, bacterial, and viral
diseases, including a parasitic meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus
tenuis) carried by white-tailed deer and an arterial worm carried by
mule deer [21].

Logging operations can negatively affect elk use of an area.  Models
have been developed to determine elk use of clearcuts [33].  Elk use
increases in cutover areas as the vegetation exceeds 4 feet (1.2 m) in
height and if slash in and around the cut is less than 1.5 feet (0.5 m)
deep.  Elk move as far away from areas near active harvest operations as
topography allows, such as over ridges [15,29,35].  Neither an
undisturbed forest adjacent to a harvest operation nor long distances
from a harvest operation are as effective as topographic features in
providing security cover for elk during logging [35].  Recommendations
are to log summer range in winter or reduce the length of operation and
the number of concurrent harvests in any one management unit.  Habitat
availability will be reduced for elk within 1,650 to 3,300 feet
(500-1,000 m) of an active harvest operation [15].

Elk avoid well-travelled forest roads from spring through fall [16].
Less well-travelled roads may receive more use, but without tree cover,
elk use will diminish within 2,450 feet (750 m).  Recommendations for
logging and road building in critical elk habitat are listed by several
authors [16,29,48].  For comprehensive information on the effects of
logging on elk in western Montana, refer to the final report of the
Montana Cooperative Elk-Logging Study [51].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Cervis elaphus | Elk