Elk vs Deer
The deer family is a large group of grazing or browsing ruminants that cover the globe. Some common deer species are moose, elk, white-tailed deer, and sambar. For the most part, these species hold more similarities with their cousins than differences, but there are some key distinctions between deer and elk.
Most people in North America refer to white-tailed deer as deer, just as we will be doing for the duration of this article. However, white-tails are a species within the deer family, Cervidae.
Similarities
Both species are ruminants, meaning that they have a four-chambered stomach full of bacteria that allows them digest nearly all varieties of plant matter.
Both species mate in the fall and during that time males lose a significant portion of their body weight as they attempt to mate with as many females as possible.
Baby deer (fawns) and baby elk (calves) are born in the spring. They are marked with distinctive white colored spots that they lose before their first winter.
The males of both species grow a new set of antlers annually. As these antlers are growing during the spring and summer they are covered with a soft tissue known as velvet.
There are also many ways in which you can tell elk and deer apart.
Morphology
Elk are large animals. Males weigh around 700lb when they reach maturity, and stand 5 feet long and 8 feet tall. Females are smaller and only weight 500lb. Elks are covered with a shaggy brown coat that gets thicker in the winter. Males also grow a thick mat of hair around their necks at that time. Elk noses are large, round, and droopy.
Deer ‘“ top out at 300lb for mature males. Females rarely weight more than 200lb. Deer stand around 3 ½ feet tall and can grow to as long as 7 feet in length. Their coats are reddish tinged in the summer and dull out to a gray in the winter. The most distinctive feature of the deer is its white tail, which it raises in alarm.
Vocalization
Elk make a distinctive bugling call that can be heard for miles around. Variations are used for mating and as a cry of distress.
Deer communicate with bleats and grunts, but also make liberal use of non-auditory means, such as scents.
Diet
Elk are browsers and feed on a variety of grasses found on the edges of woodlands.
Deer are grazers that prefer legumes but also eat shoots, leaves, and grasses.
Summary
1. Deer and elk have many similarities including their taxonomical family, digestion process, and reproductive cycle.
2. Elk are much larger than deer. The two animals are also distinguishable by their coats.
3. Elk communicate louder and more distinctivly than deer.
4. Elk are grazers and deer are browsers.