Manitoban elk

Manitoban elk
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Cervidae
Genus:	Cervus
Species:	C. canadensis
Subspecies:	C. c. manitobensis
Trinomial name
Cervus canadensis manitobensis (Erxleben, 1777)[2]

The Manitoban elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) is a subspecies of elk found in the Midwestern United States (specifically North Dakota) and southern regions of the Canadian Prairies (specifically Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and north-central Alberta).^[3][4][5] In 2001–2002, a breeding population of 52 Manitoban elk was also introduced into the Cataloochee valley of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina to replace a population of Eastern elk which had gone extinct over 100 years prior. As of 2021, the population has grown to 150-200 individuals and has expanded their range outside of their initial protected region.^[6] In 2016, one of the elk from the North Carolina herd was spotted in South Carolina, the first time an elk had been seen in that state since the late 1700s.^[7]

Compared to the Rocky Mountain elk, it is larger in body size, but has smaller antlers. The subspecies was driven into near extinction by 1900, but has recovered since then.

The Manitoban elk's primary predator is the grey wolf. Because the elk is a non-migratory species, it cannot rely on long-distance migration to reduce the risk of predation, and therefore uses a combination of behavioral patterns, such as aggregation, movement, and vigilance, to avoid predation.^[8]