Roosevelt elk
The Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk (Cervus canadensis) in North America by body mass. Mature bulls weigh from 700 to 1,200 lb (320 to 540 kg). with very rare large bulls weighing more. Its geographic range includes temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest including parts of northern California. It was introduced to Alaska's Afognak, Kodiak, and Raspberry Islands in 1928 and reintroduced to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast from Vancouver Island in 1986.
| Roosevelt Elk | |
|---|---|
| Male (bull) at Northwest Trek, Washington, US | |
| Female (cow) at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, US | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Cervinae |
| Genus: | Cervus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | C. c. roosevelti |
| Trinomial name | |
| Cervus canadensis roosevelti Merriam, 1897 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Cervus elaphus roosevelti | |
In December 1897, mammalogist C. Hart Merriam named the species after his friend Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the US Navy.: 589 The desire to protect the Roosevelt elk was one of the primary forces behind the establishment of the Mount Olympus National Monument in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Later in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the region and saw the elk named after his relative. The following year he created Olympic National Park.