Their normal diet of small rodents, berries and fruits may be supplemented with carrion. They are observed throughout the park. Dark reddish black back grading to a orange-brown lower side. They feed on tree cones and are found throughout the forested sections of the park. Rich brown color with dark brown head and neck and a light tan or white patch around the rump.
Male elk have antlers which are shed each year.
Elk are found mostly in the high meadows and subalpine forests during the summer, browsing on twigs, bark, shrubs, and occasional herbaceous plants. September is the time to listen for the male's bugling call which can be heard at Cowlitz Park, Shriner Peak, Stevens Ridge, and Sunrise. The golden mantled ground squirrel is slightly larger than the chipmunk and only has stripes down its back. Although the chipmunk and ground squirrel eat many of the same foods, they coexist because the chipmunk will climb into the lower branches of trees and shrubs to forage, while ground squirrels remain on the ground. Marmots are the groundhogs of the west.