North American elk are generally considered to be the same species as the red deer of Asia and Europe. Females, called cows, are shorter and perhaps 200 pounds lighter. Mostly tan or brown, elk sport a distinctively white rump for which the Shawnee named them wapiti. Elk can live in many habitats, from rugged mountains to desert valleys to hardwood forests. Though primarily grazers of grass, they also eat other plants including parts of trees, especially in winter.
Wapiti are gregarious, often forming sizable herds.
In the fall, bulls compete for breeding rights, with each would-be patriarch attempting to establish his own harem. The rut is marked by occasional antler-clashing duels and the bulls frequent bugles, a blend of whistles and screams. An estimated 10 million elk once occupied part of every continental state except Florida and Alaska, but European settlers and market shooters decimated the herds. By the late 1800s, only about 50,000 elk remained, mostly in the Yellowstone area, and wapiti appeared headed for extinction. Early in the last century, however, federal and state protections, habitat improvements and relocations set the stage for a comeback, and today America is home to about 1 million elk.