Elk

Elk (Cervus canadensis) are commonly seen in Northern Arizona’s subalpine zones, ponderosa pine forests and piñon-juniper forests, where they dine primarily on grasses and shrubs. But they weren’t always so easy to find: Arizona’s native elk subspecies, the Merriam’s elk, went extinct around 1900 as a result of overhunting. Starting in the 1910s, Rocky Mountain elk from the Yellowstone National Park area were introduced in Arizona, which now has a population of about 35,000 elk. These animals go through a rut, or breeding season, starting in late summer; during this time, bull elk compete for cows with a loud, wailing call known as a bugle, and they use their antlers to fight with other bulls. The changing seasons also affect elk coats, which on adults are tan in winter and reddish-brown in summer. Elk calves have a dark red coat with white spots.