Types of Elk

Types of Elk
Elk hunting continues to be a very popular form of hunting. Elk are big animals and the challenge of tracking them, locating them and then harvesting them is great fun for many men. Elk can be difficult to find and they can disappear very quickly. There are three main types of elk in the United States. They include the American elk, the Roosevelt Elk and the Tulle Elk.
The American elk can largely be found on the land west of the Mississippi River. American elk are also referred to as the Rocky Mountain elk. Bull elks of this type of reach weights of 800 pounds. To get some perspective, the average cow weighs around 450-500 pounds. Most American elk can be found in Colorado. There are estimates of 300,000 elk living in this state.
American elk can also be found in Arizona, New Mexico and Idaho. American elk used to be found in most places in the United States and even in some parts of Canada. However, hunters have killed most of them off and they only primarily remain in the areas west of the Rocky Mountains. Hunters will find the biggest herds near the Sun River in Montana, Yellowstone Park and the Olympic Mountains in Washington.
The Roosevelt Elk, which can reach 1000 pounds, is the biggest of all types of elk. They can found in Washington, Northern California and Oregon. The skin of the Roosevelt elk is darker then that of the Rocky Mountain elk. They are also tough to hunt because they bugle less then Rocky Mountain elk. They live in wet and rugged terrain, which make them even harder to hunt.
Roosevelt elk like to eat grass and weeds in the early part of the summer and spring. In the winter, fall and the latter part of the summer they like to eat trailing wild blackberries, maple, huckleberry and salal.
The Tulle elk is the smallest out of three elk sub-species. They generally get up to around 600 pounds. They are a beige color with dark brown mane. Both male and female Tulle elk have a similar looking mane. They have a white rump. Younger Tulle elk are spotted and are light brown in color. Tulle elk are around 7 feet long and their shoulders are about 4-5 feet high.
The female Tulle elk do not have antlers but the males do. Males do drop their antlers but they grow back bigger and with more tines as they get older. These types of elk like to get red brome, wild licorice, cheatgrass and alfalfa. Tulle elk live in central California. That is the only place that you can find them in the United States.
The three types of elk in the United States are the Tulle elk, the American elk and the Roosevelt elk. The Roosevelt elk is the biggest and can weigh in at around 1000 pounds. The Tulle elk is the smallest, with the heaviest ones only growing to be around 600 pounds. All elk live in rough terrain and can be challenging to hunt.