Rocky Mountain Elk is the official state animal of Utah. Rocky Mountain Elk was entitled as the official Utah state animal on February 1, 1971. Cervus Canadensis is the scientific name of Rocky Mountain Elk. It is commonly known as Elk or Wapiti, which is native to North America and eastern Asia, they have adapted well to Argentina and New Zealand.
The Elk is one of the largest species of Cervidae family and also one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. The law entitling the Rocky Mountain Elk as Utah’s official state animal is found in the Utah Code, Title 63G, Chapter 1, Section 601.
State animal of Utah Facts–
- Common name: The Elk or Wapiti
- Scientific name: Cervus canadensis.
- Habitat: Elk chooses open woodlands and can be found in coniferous swamps, clear cuts, aspen-hardwood forests, and coniferous-hardwood forests. They avoid dense unbroken forests.
- Diet: Grasses, sedges, and forbs in summer and in the winter they have to eat woody growth like cedar, wintergreen, eastern hemlock, sumac, jack pine, red maple, staghorn, and basswood.
- Weight: The female Elks (cows) average 225 to 241 kg (496 to 531 lb), while the males are weighing an average of 320 to 331 kg (705 to 730 lb)
- Average height: The female Elks (cows) height is 1.3 m (4.3 ft) at the shoulder, and the length is 2.1 m (6.9 ft) from nose to tail, while the male elks (bull) height is 1.5 m (4.9 ft) at the shoulder and average length is 2.45 m (8.0 ft).
- Color: The color of Rocky mountain elk is dark brown in winter and dark to tan in summer. The head, neck, belly, and legs are darker than the back and sides.
- Average life span: In internment 10 to 15 years
- Breeding season: Breeding occurs in summer, fawns are born in the spring.
- Calves: The babies of the Elk called ‘calves’. The female elk give birth to single calves after six months of the gestation period.
The Rocky Mountain Elk, Utah’s State animal is the most popular and elegant official state animal, which outstandingly represents and glorifies the spirit of Utah State.
Reference:
https://www.livescience.com/
http://www.ereferencedesk.com/
http://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/animal.html
https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol/utah/state-mammal/rocky-mountain-elk