Elk-Prey Animals

Elk are Prey Animals

Elk are prey animals which means they eat plants, tree limbs, bark, and around 80 different types of grasses among other plants. In the winter they will eat just about anything that may provide them sustenance. They don’t require much sleep since their brain doesn’t have to work so hard for their food. You never saw a blade of grass running away from an elk before have you? So they can eat, graze, rechew their food and nap everyday without getting worn out from lack of sleep. This is not to say elk are stupid. How many times have you been outsmarted by an elk?

Elk require 4 things in this order to survive:

1. Safety

2. Comfort

3. Water

4. Food

Safety requires shelter. It may be thick, dark timber on a ridge. It could be a canyon with steep sides. They also find safety in numbers during some seasons. Safety is primarily found under the cover of trees. Pine, Douglas Fir, Aspen groves. Aspen groves provide cool places to bed and browse. If you’ve ever been in a large stand of Aspen trees you will find rich, dark soil where lush grasses prevail. The smell is wonderful. It’s always cool and moist in stands of Aspen trees. The elk and other wild animals enjoy these places. Where you can find mixed stands of Douglas Fir and Aspens then you’ve found a very special place. Elk will often bed near Douglas Fir trees. But when they are mixed with Aspens then the elk can live there. They have food, cover, water (from wet grasses), bark and cool air. I’ve heard elk can be unusually noisy in such areas so keep your ears alert to breaking limbs or thumping of the ground from elk running and playing.

Comfort can be found in a herd of elk. Calves seek comfort by being near their mother. Bulls seek comfort with each other in the winter. I like to say big elk require their Solitude also. This falls in the comfort area. Elk don’t respond well to stress like many animals. Solitude for a mature bull elk often comes near timberline here in Colorado. Along the West and North facing ridges where natural springs provide water, plants grow green from the dark soil and moistness. Snow drifts slowly melt away. It’s where you will find bull elk. They love the timber. Places that are cool and dark. This is easy to find since North and West facing slopes receive less sunlight. Look for moss growing on tree limbs. Little meadows, creeks and ponds exist in these areas too. So bull elk need not travel far to feed. The old forests provide a canopy above for shade and fallen trees for cover on the ground. When bulls are in their areas during they summer they are often alone. So blowing on a cow call at this time would surely alert them. Save your calling for when you actually make visual contact with elk. I have yet to see a mature bull elk out in the open during Spring or Summer. Bulls are intensely private animals this time of year. Only during the rut and winter migration will they venture into open meadows in valleys. The rut clouds their judgment. Their keen survival skills are replaced with the acts of mating. However, the cows aren’t fooled by their hormones and will alert the herd to any danger. During Winter bull elk gather in bachelor groups. They will venture out into the open among willow trees in meadows to graze on what ever grass is available. Though they may only appear during early morning and late evening. They retreat to the woods for the majority of daylight hours. Elk are very durable animals. They will not hesitate to bed on several feet of snow while rechewing their food. They just shake off the snow or water from their fur when it accumulates. I’ve seen elk beds in the snow. They melt down the snow into ice. If you see a bed in the snow you may also see where they have urinated and defecated in their beds. This is common. Elk produce a very strong odor that is easily recognizable during winter when seasonal plants smells don’t interfere. You will often smell bulls during the winter before you ever see them.

Elk must drink water everyday. In places like Colorado where alpine springs and creeks abound this is easy to find. In Arizona the only water for miles could be a man-made water tank. Elk get water from plants and snow too. In dry areas Elk will visit small pools of water in rock and dirt before they visit a water tank. I’ve seen deep ruts in jeep trails hold water in AZ which served as a water hole for deer and elk.

Elk love to graze. They love all sorts of grasses. They will eat to and from their bedding areas and rechew their food when they are bedded. If they’re not eating they are rechewing their food or resting. Calves will play. Wrag horns will spar. Elk will walk many miles to find good food. It’s what they live for and where you are most likely to find them.

The elk’s natural instinct it to run or flee from perceived danger then look back to see what was after them. Usually the only chance we have of seeing them is when they don’t know we are there and when they turn around to see what spooked them.

Elk can be domesticated as seen in our National Parks and Elk Farms around the country. It would take a lot of effort and years of work to get a wild elk to be comfortable with our presence. A heavily hiked mountain trail could offer this environment. It’s when we get off the trail that the elk would again spook at the sight of us. However, with a lot of effort and understanding it could be done. You’d have to work with the same elk on a routine basis over time. That is the difficult part when the elk is wild and his patterns vary over miles of mountainous terrain.