Irish elk
A folk memory of the Irish elk was once thought to be preserved in the Middle High German word , a large beast mentioned in the 13th-century "Nibelungenlied" along with the then-extant aurochs ( / "After this he straightway slew a Bison and an Elk, Of the strong Wild Oxen four, and a single fierce Schelch.") This opinion is no longer widely held. The Middle Irish word was also suggested as a reference to the Irish elk. Turf cutters of Clooney and Tulla in County Clare, Ireland referred to the Irish elk as the . However, these interpretations are not conclusive.