Travel Challenge Answer October 2008
(Click photo to view larger version.)
Congratulations to Bill who was the first person to correctly identify the animal hidden in the picture as an elk! We were fortunate to get up close and personal with a bull and his harem in Yellowstone National Park a few weeks back. Thankfully, the bull eventually came out from behind the tree which allowed me an opportunity to shoot some better photos.
In North America, Elk (Cervus canadensis) are the second largest species in the deer family after Moose (Alces alces). Confusingly, in Europe what we call Moose they call Elk, a situation that has helped to popularize the usage of Wapiti—a Shawnee word for the mammals in North America.
(Click photo to view on Flickr.)
DNA evidence suggests that the four extant subspecies of Elk in North America—Roosevelt (C. canadensis roosevelti), Tule (C. canadensis nannodes), Manitoban (C. canadensis manitobensis) and Rocky Mountain (C. canadensis nelsoni)—all belong to the same subspecies (Cervus canadensis canadensis). Though they should change it is highly unlikely that the classifications will be updated any time soon for conservation purposes. So, though Alison was the most specific with her guess of Rocky Mountain Elk (which is what the elk in the Yellowstone area are called), just plain old Elk is technically correct.
A huge thanks to everyone who hazarded a guess, we appreciate your participation! Keep on guessing—when you get it right, you’ll win one of our interesting, fun, unusual, odd, and sometimes even useful prizes.
View the original photo: October 2008 Travel Challenge.
Oh, well. The elk appeared sooner for Bill than it did for me. Looking forward to your upcoming appearance in Tucson.