Origin of Elk!

[Carolyn]

HI i was talking with a coe worker and we started to talk about elk he had stated there are five diffrent type of elk .manitoban elk,tule elk,roosevelt elk, rocky mountain elk and " merriam elk" well when i heard him say that i almost burst out with laughter when i hear the word merriam i think of turkeys :confused: me bad . Is there such a elk and if so can someone point me in the right direction for some info.I havent been doing this long so save the laughter for later thanks for any info if any.:wave:

[TheClash]

http://www.bowhunting.net/NAspecies/elk1.html


google....it is amazing..try it:lol: :lol:

[lazy ike]

HI i was talking with a coe worker and we started to talk about elk he had stated there are five diffrent type of elk .manitoban elk,tule elk,roosevelt elk, rocky mountain elk and " merriam elk" well when i heard him say that i almost burst out with laughter when i hear the word merriam i think of turkeys :confused: me bad . Is there such a elk and if so can someone point me in the right direction for some info.I havent been doing this long so save the laughter for later thanks for any info if any.:wave:


I believe Merriams are now extinct but if you look at my Avatar, everything that ain't green was the former range of the N.American Elk herd.

[Carolyn]

Thanks for the info so quick

google....it is amazing..try it ok ok .:)

[SakoAlberta]

I believe Merriams are considered extinct, although I've read some biologists believe there may be remnants of their genetics in some pockets still. If Merriams were still in existence, they would likely be rewriting the record books are they had the largest antlers of any of the sub spcs.

[sheephunter]

Yes Merriam elk are referenced and were inhabitants of Oklahoma in the Wichita Mountains.

Not to call your map into question Ike but there are plenty of historical references of elk in Texas.

There are actually six sub species of elk referenced by taxonomists....Roosevelt, Tule, Merriams, Eastern, Manitoban and Rocky Mountain. As with all things in taxonomy, there is much arguement over which ones are true sub species.

[raised by wolves]

Apparently, Merriam's elk are now extinct. I had always thought they were the smaller bodied animals found in Utah.

Many animals and plant species are named for a biologist or researcher that originally identified or discovered them. Some are named for a family member or loved one of the researcher.

ie. Swainson's Hawk and Swainson's Thrush, Audoban's Warbler, Franklin Grouse, Cooper's Hawk, Say's Phoebe, Darwin's Finch ... and the list goes on.

I am not sure, but I believe the Merriam name has a correlation to the Merriam-Webster partnership that resulted in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

[sheephunter]

Merriam elk were extirpated between 1902 and 1906 and were bigger than both Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt. They were an elk of the southern states...Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Mexico.

[TheClash]

some of my relatives are the other side of that merriam-webster partnership

[Tuc]

Well I'll be damned, I thought they were all called Rocky Mountain Elk.

[Grizzly Adams]

Elk also have relatives in other parts of the world. The pioneers noted our elk's similarity to their homelands and we have the city of Red Deer.:D I saw another Asian species in a German game park {Alta ---] Looked much like our elk but had a very different bugle.
Grizz

[lazy ike]

Yes Merriam elk are referenced and were inhabitants of Oklahoma in the Wichita Mountains.

Not to call your map into question Ike but there are plenty of historical references of elk in Texas..


I never noticed that? I think I got it off the RMEF sight but cannot find the link right now.

[lazy ike]

here's a link.

http://www.geospatial-solutions.com/geospatialsolutions/Natural+Resources%2FEnvironmental+Management/Protecting-Elk-Country/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/125697

[sheephunter]

I never noticed that? I think I got it off the RMEF sight but cannot find the link right now.


Ah, it's easier to see on a larger version of the map....on it you can see where they referenced elk in Texas.

[raised by wolves]

I hunted the big ones in central Europe. Every English speaker just called them stags or Red Deer. I believe they are the same species the Germans refer to as Rot Hirsch. More of a prolonged grunt than a bugle.

[300 wsm]

now here is somethin worth reading and learnin

[Walleyes]

Well now I'm all messed up.. Where the heck do they come from ??? I want to go and hunt them on their home turf... I know they come from Europe but where ?? the hunt I am planning on taking is to New Zealand,, I know this may not be home turf but I was thinking it was pretty close..


So saying a guy wanted to hunt them on home turf where would I go ???

[sheephunter]

Red Deer and elk are most definitely not native to New Zealand.

[Walleyes]

Red Deer and elk are most definitely not native to New Zealand.
So then where ???

[TheClash]

pangea.....

[sheephunter]

The Red Deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor and parts of western and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Algeria and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red Deer have been introduced to other areas including New Zealand and Argentina.

[Walleyes]

Well now we know.. Thank you sure... So thats cool. With what I read Argentina would be as close to home turf as anything possible,, nothing wrong with headin to Argentina,, can you say it arrrrrgggennteenaahh...

[sheephunter]

Well now we know.. Thank you sure... So thats cool. With what I read Argentina would be as close to home turf as anything possible,, nothing wrong with headin to Argentina,, can you say it arrrrrgggennteenaahh...

No, Argentina is about as far from home turf as you could go...they are a transplant there....still be a great place to go. Looks like Europe if you want home turf or just be happy with Alberta...they are indigenous here!

[Ishpah]

Of course yo'all know that that elk is a mis-nomer for the majestic animal called wapiti.
Scavanged from another website, "Wapiti (Cervus elaphus), second largest (after the moose), most highly evolved Old World DEER, is also known as the American elk. Its name is Shawnee for "white rump." Wapiti came to N America via BERINGIA late in the ICE AGES but expanded their range and population only after the extinction of the American megafauna about 11 000 years ago."
If you want to become a psuedo expert on North American elk, read the book "The Elk of North America by Olaus J. Murie".

[lazy ike]

Red Deer and elk are most definitely not native to New Zealand.


Neither are the moose!

[sheephunter]

Neither are the moose!

As we were talking about elk...I confined my comments to that family but if you really want to get specific, there are no native mammals in New Zealand...all where brought by man in the past 1,300 years.

[corygale]

Good answer sheep and so true quite amazing when you think of it sorry for jackin the thread

[aulrich]

Another Rocky Mountain misnomer is the mountain lion,

Where ever there were deer there were cougers, there are not just in the mountains. European expansion was hell on the local wildlife.

[BUD]

In the early days of the Buffalo , the Elk roamed the praires along side the Buffalo , and were chased west into the Mountains by Indians and early settler hunters

[Ticdoc]

Sheep,
I know what you intended, terrestrial mammals, eh? New Zealand has 2 species of bats and marine mammals. So, there are native mammals there.

ticdoc

[sheephunter]

Sheep,
I know what you intended, terrestrial mammals, eh? New Zealand has 2 species of bats and marine mammals. So, there are native mammals there.

ticdoc


Good point...terrestrial indeed