Bull Elk - Velvet Glow
A large bull elk browses through a meadow near Canyon in Yellowstone National Park in the early morning sun. This time of year, the elk's antlers are almost finished growing and they will soon shed the velvet covering that surrounds the bone of the antler. The elk rut is just a month away in the park.
The elk or wapiti is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose to which the name "elk" applies in British English and in reference to populations in Eurasia.
Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Males also engage in.. more
