Elk can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. Mature bulls can stand five feet. Cows are one fourth smaller. There are 175,000 elk in the Colorado mountains today. Elk live in forested areas, mountain meadows, foothills and canyons.
Elk range from the eastern foothills to the western border of Colorado.
Elk eat grass, shoots, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruit. The elk's predators are mainly wolves, pumas, human hunters, grizzly bears and black bears. The elk's color is creamy brown with a dark mane and a white rump patch. They also change color every year. When calves are born they have spots for protection.