9 



Further safeguards are needed to phice the Wyoming elk herds be- 

 yond the reach of winter starvation. 



In addition to the wild herds, there are a consideral)le number of 

 elk in private game preserves and parks, as well as in nearly all the 

 public zoological parks and gardens of this country. The herds in 

 captivit}^ form the nucleus from which, under wise management, 

 some of the former ranges of this animal may be restocked and from 

 which a profitable business of growing elk venison for market may 

 be developed. At the present time this species affords a most prom- 

 ising field for ventures in breeding for profit. 



HABITS OF ELK. 



The elk is both a browsing and a grazing animal. While it eats 

 grasses freely and has been known to subsist entirely upon pasture, it 

 seems to prefer a mixture of grass and browse. 



The elk is extremely polygamous. The adult bulls shed their 

 antlers annually in March or April, and new ones attain their full 

 size in about ninety days. The '* velvet " adheres until about August. 

 While the horns are grooving the bulls usualh^ lead solitary lives; 

 but early in September, when the horns are fully matured, the rutting 

 season begins. Fights for supremacy then take place, and the victor 

 takes charge of as many cows as he can round up and control. The 

 period of gestation is about %\ months. The female does not usually 

 breed until the third year, and produces but one calf at a time. 



Although the elk is less prolific than the common deer and some 

 other species that have been bred in parks, it increases fulh^ as 

 rapidly as the common red deer of Elurope. Moreover, it makes up 

 for any lack of fecundity by its superior hardiness and ease of man- 

 agement. It has been acclimatized in many parts of the world, and 

 shows the same vigor and hardiness wherever it has been trans- 

 planted. In Europe it has been successfully crossed with the Altai 

 wapiti and the red deer, and in both instances the offspring were 

 superior in size and general stamina to the native stock. 



ELK VENISON. 



The flesh of the elk, although somewhat coarse, is superior in flavor 

 to most venison. That of the bulls is in its best condition about the 

 time the velvet is shed. By the time the rut is over, in October, their 

 flesh is in the poorest condition. As the open season for elk is usually 

 in October and November, and only bulls are killed, it follows that 

 hunters often obtain the venison when it is poorest. The meat is 

 not best when freshly killed, but should be left hanging for four or 

 five days before it is used. Of course fat elk are better eating than 

 lean, and it is said that A^enison from castrated bulls is superior to 

 an}^ other. 



47930— Bull. 330—08 2 



