Eastern Elk
The Eastern Elk (*Cervus canadensis canadensis*) was an extinct subspecies of elk that inhabited the Northern and eastern united states, and southern canada. The last eastern elk was shot dead on september 1,1877 in Pennsylvania.(wikipedia,n.d,para 1)
According to the article,"remembering the eastern elk" by Susan Shea(jan 14,2019), Eastern Elks were once the most widely distribuited hoofed mamals of the north anerica, numbered in millions, and were adaptable to variety of habitats
Male elks used to weigh around600 to 1000 pounds while females were about 25 percent smaller, and had a cream coloured body with dark mane. They thrived in forested landscapes, grazing on grasses, shrubs, and tree bark.
then how did these majestic creatures went extinct? According to historical accounts, when European settlers moved in, elk did not hide, but continued to roam where they always had, foraging near settlements, especially in winter. This made them an easy target, and reportedly settlers often killed more elk than needed: an “exterminating butchery” wrote zoologist J.A. Allen in 1871. In Lives of Game Animals (1929), Ernest Thompson Seton commented, “There are few stories of blood lust more disgusting than that detailing the slaughter of the great elk bands.”(Susan Shea,2019,para 4)
reference - Susan, J.(2019, January 2019), remembering the elks,https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/remembering-eastern-elk
reference - Wikipedia contributors. (2024f, October 25). Eastern elk. Wikipedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_elk