Both males and females have dark, almost black summer coats that turn reddish-brown as the weather cools. As with many species in the deer family, male moose develope antlers and generally speaking are larger in body size than females. Once distributed throughout the United States, elk are now found almost exclusively in the Western United States and Southwestern Canada, with some reintroduction programs being undertaken in states like Pennsylvania.
Elk utilize all types of cover, from open fields to heavily timbered mountains.