Quick Take
- Elk are among the largest land-dwelling mammals in North America and Eastern Asia.
- A 1,000-pound bull elk requires 30 pounds of daily forage to maintain its massive frame.
- Baby elk, called calves, rely solely on their mother’s milk during their first weeks of life.
Elk (Cervus canadensis) are among the largest land-dwelling mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. These massive animals can weigh over 1,000 pounds and stand 5 feet tall at the shoulder. Elk are herbivorous ruminants that feed primarily on vegetation, with seasonal shifts in their diet. These animals require substantial amounts of vegetation to fuel their massive bodies. Continue reading to discover everything you need to know about what elk eat.
What Foods Do Elk Eat?
Elk are considered herbivores, relying on a diet of grasses, sedges, forbs, shrubs, and tree bark. While they are almost exclusively plant-eaters, elk are highly adaptable and have been known to occasionally consume bones, antlers, or even bird eggs, but they are still classified as herbivores.
Elk are primarily herbivores that eat grasses, tree bark, and forbs.
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Elk are adaptable and will eat what is available and abundant in their area, including:
- Bluegrass
- Wheatgrass
- Fescue
- Timothy grass
- Dandelions
- Willow
- Elk thistle
- Violets
- Birch twigs
- Willow twigs
- Aspen twigs
- Rowan twigs
- Heather
- Lichen
- White clover
- Acorns
- Greater sage-grouse eggs
- Bird bones
This list provides an overview of the various foods elk may eat when available. Since elk are ruminants, they have multi-chambered stomachs that allow them to digest tough materials like bark, twigs, and their favorite grasses. Elk regurgitate their food and chew the cud before swallowing it again as part of their digestive process.
Elk have been spotted eating far more foods in the extensive studies into their behavior and foraging habits, especially as the seasons change.
What Do Baby Elk Eat?
Baby elk are called calves, and they spend their early lives nursing milk from their mothers. For the first few weeks of their lives, calves exclusively feed on their mother’s milk. After a few weeks, calves begin to integrate grass into their diet.
Elk calves drink milk for the first few weeks of their lives.
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They will continue to drink milk for 2-5 months after birth, during which time they introduce new foods into their diet. By the time they are a year old, they have assumed an adult elk’s diet.
How Much Do Elk Need to Eat?
Male elk, or bulls, can grow up to 5 feet tall and weigh 1,000 pounds. Female elk, called cows, can stand 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder and can reach weights of 600 pounds.
Since they are primarily herbivores, elk need to consume a lot of food to have the requisite energy to travel, fend off predators, and forage.
An elk needs to eat around 3 pounds of vegetation for every 100 pounds it weighs.
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The basic formula for determining how much elk need to eat daily is roughly 3 pounds for every 100 pounds that an elk weighs. A large cow will eat 18 pounds of forage, while a large bull will eat nearly 30 pounds of food each day. This explains why elk are constantly in search of nutritious food.
What Do Elk Eat in the Winter?
Elk eat different foods at different times of the year based on what is available. Their range extends into mountainous areas where they can face severe winters.
Elk can find most of their typical diet during the winter.
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Much of the food elk eat during the winter has a lower protein content than the summer foods, and the food is less digestible. Nevertheless, they make do with foods that are not buried under snow, including:
- Less nutritious grasses
- Pine bark
- Aspen bark
- Pine needles
- Twigs from various trees
- Juniper
- Lichens
- Cattails.
These are the most common foods that elk will eat in the winter. Although nutritious food is harder to come by during this time, their unique stomachs allow them to absorb the nutrition they need.
What Predators Hunt Elk?
Although elk are large, muscular, and powerful animals whose antlers can be used for defense, they are not invincible. Elk are a primary prey species in North America, facing significant pressure from several predators that have evolved to overcome their size and defensive capabilities.
Wolves are the primary predator of elk.
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While healthy adult elk can use their antlers and sharp, powerful hooves to kill or injure attackers, their predators include:
- Siberian tigers
- Coyotes
- Brown bears
- Cougars
- Mountain lions
- Gray wolves
- Black bears
- Bobcats
- Grizzly bears
- Humans.
Wolves are major predators of elk, tracking them by smell and hunting in packs, but in some regions, cougars may kill more elk than wolves. Human beings are also a common predator of elk, hunting them for sport and food.
Like many mammals, elk are most vulnerable when they are young. While adult elk may deter some predators, they cannot always fend off packs of large, hungry animals.
