Mindy McLain, age 12, of Missoula, Mont., for her question:
HOW BIG DOES AN AMERICAN ELK BECOME?
The male American elk, a member of the deer family that lives in North America, grows to be about five feet high at the shoulder and may weigh between 700 and 1,000 pounds. Its rounded antlers may spread more than five feet. He is called a bull. The female, called a cow, is smaller than the male and doesn't grow antlers.
Shawnee Indians and the scientists of later times called the American elk the "wapiti." The animal was given the name of elk by the early English colonists. They paid no attention to the fact that the name "elk" had long been used for the European moose.
Nevertheless, the American elk's name stuck and it is the name most commonly used today.
The American elk is much like the red deer found in Europe and Asia. The animals are brownish gray with a yellowish tan rump. The legs, head and neck are dark brown.
A bull elk will have a total of about 12 points on its antlers. The antlers grow during the summer months and are shed during winter.
During September and October, the bulls fight for leadership of the herd. An exceptional bull may keep a harem of 60 or more cows, but the average one keeps only a dozen or so at a time.
As the elk travel from high mountain valleys called parks to the lower valleys, they gather into large herds of both sexes and all ages. They spend the winter here, where the snow is not too deep.
In the spring, the elk move slowly back into the higher mountains. The calves are born in May or June. A cow rarely has more than one calf at a time. An elk calf is light tawny brown with many white spots. These spots are lost during the animal's first change of coat in August.
Elk usually eat grasses. They also eat twigs and the needles of fir, juniper and many hardwood trees and shrubs, especially during the winter.
Wolves and cougars are among the natural enemies of the elk. Bears and coyotes kill some calves and sick adults.
Many of the larger elk herds of the United States and Canada do not have enough winter range for feeding. Because of this, many elk die of starvation or from diseases such as pneumonia and calf diphtheria.
Some American elk have been brought back to several regions, including parts of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, South Dakota, New Mexico and Arizona. The largest herds live in Yellowstone Park, along Montana's Sun River and in Washington's Olympic Mountains.
The European elk is the largest European deer. It belongs to the same species as the huge, awkward American moose, with its scoop shaped antlers. Elk have been well protected by law in European countries, but the animals unfortunately are still gradually dying out.