Physical Description
The Elk, or Red Deer as it is known in Europe, is a large impressive looking animal. The males look especially majestic when they have a full crown of antlers, and have long been associated with virility and strength. Although they are a large animal they are well proportioned. The body is slender and is carried by long legs. The neck is long and thin and the head graceful. Males are considerable larger and more heavily built than the females. The size and weight of Red Deer varies considerably across their geographical range, in Western Europe animals are much smaller than those found further east. Male red Deer are known as Stags, while the females are known as hinds.
Only stags have antlers. The antlers are used by the males when fighting with each other for access to females during the annual mating season or rut. The antlers are lost after the rut each January, but males begin to grow a new set almost immediately. The antlers are ready for use by the following August.
Mature Red Deer can possess very impressive sets of antlers. The antlers are branched and have many tines. A typical fully-grown male will possess antlers with a total of 12 tines, but animals with as many as 20 tines are not unheard of. Young stags, and stags from areas with poor levels of food will not develop antlers of full size.
Distribution and Habitat
The Red Deer has one of the most widespread distribution ranges of any species of deer. They are found across a broad swath of temperate forest across Europe and Asia, and into North America. In North America they are often called Wapiti or Elk. They are also the only species of deer to be found in Africa, a small population living in the Atlas Mountains.
Red Deer are inhabitants of open deciduous woodland and forest. They prefer woodland areas that have many open glades and clearings where they can find enough food to feed. They are also often found in mountainous areas where they can feed at and above the tree line. Although across most of its range they are woodland living in some places they have adapted to living in different kinds of habitats. Red Deer in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa live in semi- desert mountain conditions; while in Scotland Red Deer have adapted to live on open moorlands. A famous population of Red Deer lives on the island of rum.
