Elk are also referred to as "wapiti," a Shawnee word meaning "white rump." The elk has a light brown coloured body with a darker head. In the elk world, the size of a male's antlers really does matter. The male with the biggest antlers very often wins the most battles, and these battles pretty much determine who will mate with whom. A bull (male) elk's antlers may reach up to 1.2 metres (4 ft.) above its head, making the animal close to 2.7 m (9 ft.) tall. The bull grows a new set of antlers each year, losing them each spring. The elk is a social animal, and a group of elk is called a gang. The elk is one of the most vocal ungulates (hooved animals.) They often grunt or squeal to keep in touch with one another. The bulls "bugle" (kind of like a whistling roar) a challenge to other males during the rut (mating season) in the fall. Elk were once found across most of North America. Their range now is primarily western North America. Manitoba has about 7000 elk mostly located in the Riding Mountain area.
Get To Know Your Zoo Animals:
We received three female elk in May 2015. They were all born in 2011 and came to us from a ranch in Manitoba. Elk live about 12 years on average in the wild, although some can get beyond 20 years. In captivity, Elk have lived beyond 25 years.
http://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/mammals/north-american-elk.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/elk/