Beauty Of Animal | Elk | The
elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest species of deer
in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and
East Asia. It
was long believed to be a subspecies of the European red deer (Cervus
elaphus), but evidence from a 2004 study of the mitochondrial DNA
indicates that the two are different species.
This animal should not be confused with the larger moose (Alces alces) with the name "elk" applies in Eurasia. Apart from the elk, the only other member of the deer family to rival the elk in size, the South Asian Sambar (Rusa unicolor). Any offer in forest and forest-edge habitat, eating grasses, plants, leaves and bark. Although
native to North America and East Asia, they have adapted well to
countries where they are introduced, including Argentina, Australia and
New Zealand. Their great adaptability can threaten native species and ecosystems in which they were introduced.
Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. The
males are also engaged in ritual mating behavior during the rut,
including posture, antler wrestling (sparring) and bugling, a loud
series of noises that established dominance over other males and
attracts females. Each sensitive to a number of infectious diseases, some of which are transferred cattle. Efforts
to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely through
vaccination, have mixed success.Some cultures revere the elk as a
spiritual force. In parts of Asia, antlers and their velvet are used in traditional medicines. Elk are hunted as a game species, the meat is leaner and higher in protein than meat or chicken
Early
European explorers in North America, who were familiar with the smaller
red deer of Europe, thought that the great North American animals
looked like a moose, and thus gave it the name moose, which is the
common European name for elk. The
word moose is related to the Latin alces, Old Norse elgr, Scandinavian
elg / algae and German Nurnberg, all of which refer to the animal known
in North America as the moose.The name wapiti is from the Shawnee and
Cree word waapiti, which means "white rump." This
name is used in particular for the Asian subspecies (Altai wapiti, Tian
Shan wapiti, Manchurian and Alashan wapiti wapiti), since the name
moose in Eurasia are still used for the elk.
Asian
subspecies are sometimes referred to as the maral, but this name is
mostly applicable to the Caspian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral), a
subspecies of red deer. There
is a subspecies of elk in Mongolia called the Altai wapiti (Cervus
canadensis sibiricus), also known as the Altai Maral, Siberian Siberian
elk or moose. (This use of the "Siberian moose" is ambiguous because the name also refers to Alces alces ssp. Cameloides Members
of the genus Cervus (and asked relatives or possible ancestors of the
moose) first appear in the fossil record 25 million years ago during the
Oligocene in Eurasia, but not in the North American fossils appear
until the early Miocene. The
extinct Irish Elk (Megaloceros) was not a member of the genus Cervus,
but the largest member of the wider deer family (Cervidae) known from
the fossils
Until recently, red deer and elk regarded as a species, Cervus elaphus. But
mitochondrial DNA analysis, performed on hundreds of samples in 2004
from red deer and elk subspecies and other species of the Cervus deer
family, are strong indications that elk, or wapiti, a separate species,
namely Cervus canadensis. The previous format had more than a dozen subspecies under the C. elaphus
species designation; DNA evidence concludes that elk are more closely
related to Thorold's deer Sika deer and even then they are for the red
deer. Although
elk and red deer can produce fertile offspring in captivity, geographic
isolation between the species in the wild and differences in mating
behavior to indicate that reproduction between them outside a controlled
environment would be unlikely. However,
the two species have quite inter-bred in New Zealand Fiordland National
Park, where the cross-bred animals have all but the pure elk blood
removed from the area.
There
are numerous subspecies of elk described, with six from North America
and four from Asia, although some taxonomists consider them different
ecotypes or varieties of the same species (adapted to local environments
through minor changes in appearance and behavior). The populations differ on antler shape and size, body size, color and mating behavior. DNA
testing of the Eurasian subspecies revealed that phenotypic variation
in antlers, mane and rump patch development are based on
"climatic-related lifestyle factors." Of
the six subspecies of elk known to have inhabited North America in
historic times, four, still including the Roosevelt (C. canadensis
roosevelti), Tule (C. canadensis nannodes), Manitoban (C. canadensis
manitobensis) and Rocky Mountain (C. canadensis nelsoni).
The Eastern elk (C. canadensis canadensis) and Merriam's Elk (C.
canadensis merriami) subspecies are extinct for at least a century
Four
subspecies described in Asia include the Altai Wapiti (C. canadensis
sibiricus) and the Tianshan Wapiti (C. canadensis songaricus). Two
distinct subspecies found in China and Korea are the Manchurian wapiti
(C. canadensis xanthopygus) and the Alashan wapitis (C. canadensis
alashanicus). The Manchurian wapiti is darker and more reddish in color than the other populations. The Alashan wapiti in north central China is the smallest of all subspecies, the lightest color and has been studied the least. Biologist
Valerius Geist, who has written about the different species of deer in
the world, states that only three subspecies of elk. Geist recognizes the Manchurian and Alashan wapiti but places all other elk in the C. canadensis
canadensis, argue that the classification of the four remaining North
American groups as subspecies is driven at least partly for political
purposes to individualized conservation and protective measures to
secure for each of the surviving populations.
Recent DNA studies indicate that no more than three or four subspecies of elk. All American forms appear to belong to a subspecies (Cervus canadensis canadensis). Even
the Siberian elk (Cervus canadensis sibiricus) are more or less
identical to the American forms and, therefore, belong to this
subspecies, too. However
the Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis xanthopygus) is clearly
distinct from the Siberian forms, but indistinguishable from the Alashan
wapiti. The
Chinese forms MacNeill's Deer, Kansu deer, and Tibetan red deer are
also among the wapitis and were indistinguishable from each other by
mitochondrial DNA analysis. This
Chinese subspecies are sometimes treated as a separate species, namely
the Central Asian Red Deer (Cervus wallichi), including the Kashmir stag
The topi is a common species in the Maasai Mara. They are known for standing watch on rocks and termite hills, guarding their territory. Dark patches mark their face, legs, thighs and hips. These large, reddish brown antelopes are a prime source of food for the savannah predators. Hartebeest can also be found on the plains. Although there are several species, only the Coke's hartebeest is common. 
