WELCOME  to all my old friends, and to new friends.  In this art gallery we offer fine art prints of inspirational Christian Artwork, Jesus Artwork, Religious Artwork, and Psalm Art.  Our Deer Art and Elk Art Collections, were inspired by God's Creation, and includes whitetail deer art, elk art, and mule deer art.  This just released Wildlife Art includes some of the most beautiful whitetail deer art on the planet.  In addition, Whitetailed Deer Artist Dale Kunkel, has brought many trophy whitetail bucks back to life in his stunning Trophy Deer Art Collection.  The trophy deer art collection is not only trophy class deer, but also works of art in high definition photorealistic detail not matched by anything else.   

You can make a statement of faith by displaying our Christian artwork or enjoy beautiful wildlife in your home or office.   

Thank you very much for taking the time to view my Art Collections.

(TO VIEW OUR FINE ART, PLEASE SELECT FROM COLLECTION MENU AT LEFT)

(Our Trophy Deer Art Collection may also be viewed at trophydeerart.com)

 

Dale Kunkel

38 Valley Park South

Bethlehem, Pa. 18018

email: dale@dalekunkel.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Notes About the Art:

Christian Artwork and Christianity
Christianity has had an influence in many works of religious art and Christian artwork.  Art is inspired generally by an artist’s religious beliefs as an expression of their own faith or of Bible scripture and events.  Christian Artwork and Religious artwork is often meant to have and inspirational effect on the viewer.  Other Christian Artwork and religious artwork is created to cause the viewer to reflect on their faith and beliefs.  Bible art can be used to teach the viewer about the Bible and Scripture.  Jesus artwork can be very emotional and help the viewer feel a sense of love for Jesus.  Christian artwork can be used to instill a respect for God and all that He has crated.  At the center of the bible is the Book of Psalms which provides Psalm art which expresses the heart and soul of humanity.  Sample of Christain Artwork that is a visual statement of faith to your belief in Jesus:

To Order: jesus artwork - Jesus the Gentle Shepherd

Inspired By:  "He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young."  Isaiah 40:11 (NIV).

To Order: Christian Artwork Print - Jesus Revelation - I Am Coming Soon

Inspired By: “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:12 (NIV).

To Order: Christian Artwork Print - Ascension of Jesus

Inspired By:  “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”  John 20:17 (NKJV).

To Order: Christian Artwork - Resurrection of Jesus

Inspired By: “Because I live, you also will live.”  John 4:19 (NIV).

To Order: Christian Artwork - Jesus is My Savior

Inspired By: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”  John 10:27-30 (NKJV).

To Order: Christian Artwork - Jesus King of Kings

Inspired By:  “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth.”  Philippians 2:10 (NKJV).

To Order: Christian Artwork - Jesus the Good Shepherd

Inspired By: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”  John 14:1 (NIV).

To Order: Christian Artwork - The Crucifixtion of Jesus

Inspired By: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (NKJV).

For more information, see Wikipedia article Christian Artwork

 

Artist's Notes About Religious Artwork and its Purpose.

Although both are synonomous, Christian Artwork, is meant to provide a visual statment of faith by displaying your favorite verse attesting to your belief Jesus is the Christ and Savior of the world.  Religious Artwork, is meant to provide a visual statment of your beleif and reverence for God.   Our art collection includes various religious artwork as follows:

To Order: Religious Artwork - Jesus is the Lion of Judah and Lamb of God

Artist's Notes:  Jesus portrayed as both the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah.  Inspired By: "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain...then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.  Revelation 5:5-6 (NKJV).

To Order: Religious Artwork - Lion of Judah

Jesus, as the Lion of Judah, leading Heaven's Armies.  Inspired By:  "His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses."  Revelation 19:11 (NKJV).

To Order: Religious Artwork - One Nation Under God

Even though, as a nation, we have rebuked God--He will heal our great nation under four conditions.  "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

 

The Life of Christ Portrayed by Jesus Art and Christian Artwork.
Jesus’ life is the core of beliefs and teachings to all Christians.  Every Christian holiday celebrates a time from the life of Jesus and Jesus art is frequently used to highlight these celebrations and greeting cards.  The gospels in the New Testament of the Christian Bible provide limitless inspiration for artist wishing to create Christian Artwork or Religious artwork. 

No physical description of Jesus is contained in any of the Gospels to use as a guide when creating the collection of Jesus artwork.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus is said to have manifested as a “light shone around him from heaven.” When then Saul asked “Who are You, Lord?”  The Lord said, “I am Jesus . . .” Acts 9:3-5 (NKJV).  In the Book of Revelation the Apostle John said His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." Rev 1:16 (NIV).  These, however, are likely a more figurative description of a spiritual form of Jesus and not his human appearance.  Isaiah tells us  that Christ's appearance was unremarkable: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah: 53:2 (NIV).   For more information, see Wikipedia article Jesus artwork

Each Jesus artwork rendition I have created is meant to represents a symbolic attribute or the deity of what the Bible tells us about who Jesus is.  For example, Jesus is . . . the Promised Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of man, the Living Word, the Light of the World, the Savior, the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the Resurrection and Life, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Good Shepherd, and Everlasting Life . . .

The use of Christian artwork, Religious artwork, and Jesus artwork is an attempt to illustrate, supplement, and portray in an art form, the principles and beliefs of Christianity as described in the Bible.  Most Christians have used Christian artwork and Religious artwork to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of Christian Religious artwork images of Jesus.  Jesus artwork and narrative scenes from the Life of Jesus Christ are the most common subjects, and scenes from the Old Testament play a part in the art of most denominations.

 

The Benefits of Christian Artwork and Religious artwork.
All Christians have learned about Bible stories, themes, and understanding through the use of Christian artwork and Religious artwork by many artist.  Art is nonverbal so it can portray a message even to people who can not read, including children in their early life.  Many Christians have grown up in churches or visited homes of fellow Christians with Christian artwork and Religious artwork and may be the first way we learned of the Bible.  Throughout history Christian artwork and Religious artwork has been a excellent way of teaching stories about the Bible to entire congregations or communities.

All Christians have love and feel emotions.  Christian artist also have the ability to create.  It is part of the image of God to be creative, or to have creativity because God created all things. The Old Testament forbids the making of "graven images" used in idolatry, but the Bible does not forbid creating Christian art and Religious art and using gods art as a form of worship. Chronicles 3:6-7.  Our Christian Artwork Gallery, includes: The Gentle Shepherd, Ascension of Jesus, King of Heaven, Above All Names, His Perfect Love, Resurrection of Jesus, Comfort and Joy, My Savior, I Am Coming Soon, and Salvation Riding on the Clouds.

To Order: Jesus Artwork Jesus is the Lamb of God

Inspired By: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  Galatians 2:20 New International Version (NIV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life

Inspired By: "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live."  John 14:19 New International Version (NIV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork Jesus is the Son of God

Inspired By: "I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God."  John 20:17 New King James Version (NKJV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega

Inspired By: “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  Revelation 22:12 New International Version (NIV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is the Light of the World

Inspired By:  Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  John 8:12 New King James Version (NKJV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is the Good Shepherd

Inspired By: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”  John 14:1 New International Version (NIV)

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is My Savior

Inspired By: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”  Isaiah 40:11 New King James Version (NKJV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is Lord

Inspired By: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12 New King James Version (NKJV).

To Order: Jesus Artwork - Jesus is Our Salvation

Inspired By: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”  Matthew 24:30 New King James Version (NKJV).

 

 

 

Psalm Art.
At the very center of the Bible is the book of Psalms.  Expressions of the Psalms through Psalm art can used to reflect a person’s powerful and life-changing relationship with God.  Psalm art can also express the joy and power of God’s everlasting love and forgiveness.  Lastly, Psalm art can be used as a daily visual reminder to live our lives in God’s grace.

The Book of Psalms, often referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible.  Its 150 poems express virtually the full range of Christian religious faith.  The most popular Psalms include:

Psalm 23 Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness  For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.  Psalm 23 Fine Art Print - Beside Still Waters.

To Order: Psalm Art - Psalm 23 Beside Still Waters

Psalm 121.  The LORD the Keeper of Israel.  A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD,  Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.  The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.  The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in. From this time forth and forever. 

To Order: Psalm Art - Psalm 121 Lift Up My Eyes
Psalm 119.
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.  Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,  And teach me Your judgments.  My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.  The wicked have laid a snare for me,  Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.  Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart.  I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes  Forever, to the very end.  

To Order: Psalm Art - Psalm 119 Lamp Unto My Feet

 

Psalm 42.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appearbefore God? 

 

Psalm 91.

For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 

 

To Order: Psalm Art - Psalm 91 Archangel Warrior

The Re-Birth of Religious Artwork.

Christian Artwork and Religious artwork of the 20th and 21st century have seen a created by artists who claim faith in Jesus Christ to re-establish Jesus art with themes that revolve around faith, Jesus Christ, God, the Church, the Bible and other Christian artwork themes worthy of respect by the secular art world.

On this site you can buy unframed religious artwork featuring biblical themes, scripture, Jesus artwork, Christian artwork, Bible art and more.

 

 

About Our Wildlife Collection:

History if Whitetail Deer In America
The whitetail deer is native to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Whitetail deer are common from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains, and is not found in much of the western U.S., including Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii, and Alaska .  Whitetail deer do, however, survive in aspen woodlands and deciduous bottomlands within the central and northern Great Plains, and in mixed deciduous, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the northern Rocky Mountain regions from South Dakota and Wyoming.

The land adjacent to the northern Rockies and partial clear-cutting of coniferous trees has been favorable to the whitetail deer and has pushed its distribution to as far north as Prince George, British Columbia.  Populations of whitetail deer around the Great Lakes have also expanded their range northwards, due to favoring more deciduous vegetation.  In other words, the whitetail deer is well-suited for its environment.

The whitetail deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter.  The whitetail deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail, which it shows as a signal of alarm by raising the tail during escape.

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - The Queen and Her Court

 

The North American male whitetail deer (also known as a buck) usually weighs 130 to 290 lb but, in rare cases, bucks in excess of 350 lb have been recorded.  In 1926, Carl J. Lenander, Jr. took a whitetail buck near Tofte, MN, that weighed 400 lb after it was field-dressed and was estimated at 510 lb when alive.  The female whitetail doe usually weighs from 88 to 200 lb.

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - The Gathering

 

Whitetail deer males re-grow their antlers every year.   Bucks without branching antlers are often termed "spike bucks".  The spikes can be quite long or very short.  Length and branching of antlers is determined by nutrition, age, and genetics.  Healthy whitetail deer in some areas that are well fed can have eight-point branching antlers.  The number of points, the length or thickness of the antlers are a general indication of age but cannot be relied upon for positive aging.  A better indication of age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat, with older whitetail deer tending to have longer snouts and grayer coats.  Spiked whitetail bucks are different from "button bucks" or "nubbin' bucks", that are male fawns and are generally about six to nine months of age during their first winter.  They have skin covered nobs on their heads.  They can have bony protrusions up to a half inch in length, but that is very rare, and they are not the same as spikes.

Antlers begin to grow in late spring, covered with a highly vascularised tissue known as velvet.  Whitetail deer bucks either have a typical or non-typical antler arrangement.  Typical antlers are symmetrical and the points grow straight up off the main beam.  Non-typical antlers are asymmetrical and the points may project at any angle from the main beam.  These descriptions are not the only limitations for typical and non-typical whitetail deer antler arrangement.  The Boone and Crockett or Pope & Young scoring systems also define relative degrees of typicality and atypicality by procedures to measure what proportion of the antlers are asymmetrical. Therefore, bucks with only slight asymmetry will often be scored as "typical".  A whitetail buck's inside spread can be anywhere from 3–25 in. and bucks shed their antlers when all females have been bred, from late December to February.

Whitetail deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats.  The largest whitetail deer occur in the temperate regions of Canada and United States.  The Northern whitetail deer, Dakota whitetail deer, and Northwest whitetail deer are some of the largest animals, with large antlers.  The smallest deer occur in the Florida Keys.

Although most often thought of as forest animals depending on relatively small openings and edges, whitetail deer can equally adapt themselves to life in more open prairie, savanna woodlands, and sage communities as in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.  The Texas whitetail deer, of the prairies and oak savannas of Texas and parts of Mexico, are the largest in the Southwest, with impressive antlers that might rival whitetail deer found in Canada and the northern United States. 

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - His Name is Prince

 

In western regions of the United States and Canada, the whitetail deer range overlaps with those of the black-tailed deer and mule deer.   In the extreme north of the range, their habitat is also used by moose in some areas.  Whitetail deer may occur in areas that are also exploited by elk such as in mixed deciduous river valley bottomlands and formerly in the mixed deciduous forest of Eastern United States.  In places such as Glacier National Park in Montana and several national parks in the Columbian Mountains and Canadian Rocky Mountains as well as starting to appear in the Yukon Territory, whitetail deer are shy and more reclusive than the coexisting mule deer, elk, and moose.

Whitetail deer communicate in many different ways using sounds, scent, body language, and marking.  All whitetail deer are capable of producing audible noises, unique to each animal.  Fawns release a high-pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers.  A doe makes maternal grunts when searching for her bedded fawns.  Grunting produces a low, guttural sound that will attract the attention of any other deer in the area.  Both does and bucks snort, a sound that often signals danger.  As well as snorting, bucks also grunt at a pitch that gets lower with maturity.  Bucks are unique in their grunt-snort-wheeze pattern that often shows aggression and hostility.  Another way whitetail deer communicate is with their white tail.  When a whitetail deer is spooked it will raise its tail to warn the other deer in the area that can see it.

Whitetail deer possess many glands that allow them to produce scents, some of which are so potent they can be detected by the human nose.   Four major glands are the pre-orbital, forehead, tarsal, and metatarsal glands.  It has been found that scent from the forehead or sudoriferous glands (found on the head, between the antlers and eyes) is used to deposit scent on branches that overhang "scrapes" (areas scraped by the deer's front hooves prior to rub-urination).  The tarsal glands are found on the upper inside of the hock (middle joint) on each hind leg.  Scent is deposited from these glands when deer walk through and rub against vegetation.  These scrapes are used by bucks as a sort of "sign-post" by which bucks know which other bucks are in the area, and to let does know that a buck is regularly passing through the area—for breeding purposes.  The scent from the metatarsal glands, found on the outside of each hind leg, between the ankle and hooves, may be used as an alarm scent.  The scent from the Interdigital glands, which are located in between the hooves of each foot, emit a yellow waxy substance with an offensive odor.  Deer can be seen stomping their hooves if they sense danger through sight, sound, or smell, this action leaves an excessive amount of odor for the purpose of warning other deer of possible danger.

Throughout the year deer will rub-urinate, a process during which a deer squats while urinating so that urine will run down the insides of the deer's legs, over the tarsal glands, and onto the hair covering these glands.  Bucks rub-urinate more frequently during the breeding season.  Secretions from the tarsal gland mix with the urine and bacteria to produce a strong smelling odor.  During the breeding season does release hormones and pheromones that tell bucks that a doe is in heat and able to breed.  Bucks also rub trees and shrubs with their antlers and head during the breeding season, possibly transferring scent from the forehead glands to the tree, leaving a scent other deer can detect. 

Sign-post marking (scrapes and rubs) are a very obvious way that whitetail deer communicate.  Although bucks do most of the marking, does visit these locations often.  To make a rub, a buck will use its antlers to strip the bark off of small diameter trees, helping to mark his territory and polish his antlers.  To mark areas they regularly pass through bucks will make scrapes.  Often occurring in patterns known as scrape lines, scrapes are areas where a buck has used its front hooves to expose bare earth.  They often rub-urinate into these scrapes, which are often found under twigs that have been marked with scent from the forehead glands.

Whitetail deer eat large varieties of food, commonly eating legumes and foraging on other plants, including shoots, leaves, cacti, and grasses.  They also eat acorns, fruit, and corn.  Their special stomach allows them to eat some things that humans cannot, such as mushrooms and Red Sumac that are poisonous to humans.  Their diet varies by season according to availability of food sources.  They will also eat hay, grass, white clover, and other food that they can find in a farm yar

 

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - Mountain Rustic

The whitetail deer is a ruminant, which means it has a four-chambered stomach.  Each chamber has a different and specific function that allows the deer to quickly eat a variety of different food, digesting it at a later time in a safe area of cover.  The Whitetail stomach hosts a complex set of bacteria that change as the deer's diet changes through the seasons. If the bacteria necessary for digestion of a particular food (e.g., hay) are absent it will not be digested. 

There are several natural predators of whitetail deer.  Gray wolves, cougars, American alligators, and (in the tropics) jaguars are the more effective natural predators of adult deer.  Bobcats, lynxes, bears, and packs of coyotes usually will prey on deer fawns.  Bears may sometimes attack adult deer while lynxes, coyotes, and bobcats are most likely to take adult deer when the ungulates are weakened by winter weather.  The general extirpation of natural deer predators over the East Coast (only the coyote is now widespread) is believed to be a factor in the overpopulation issues with this species.  Many scavengers rely on deer as carrion, including New World vultures, hawks, eagles, foxes, and corvids.

In parts of the eastern United States, some negative effects of high deer densities have been noted, such as forest degradation from overbrowsing by the deer, as well as frequent collisions with cars and trucks.  In northeastern hardwood forests, high-density deer populations affect plant succession, particularly following clear-cuts and patch cuts.  In succession without deer, annual herbs and woody plants are followed by commercially-valuable, shade-tolerant oak and maple. The shade-tolerant trees prevent the invasion of less commercial cherry and American beech, which are stronger nutrient competitors but not as shade tolerant. Although deer eat shade-tolerant plants and acorns, this is not the only way deer can shift the balance in favor of nutrient competitors.  When deer consume earlier-succession plants, this allows in enough light for nutrient competitors to invade.  Since slow growing oaks need several decades to develop root systems sufficient to compete with faster growing species, removal of the canopy prior to that point amplifies the effect of deer on succession.  It is even possible that high density deer populations could browse eastern hemlock seedlings out of existence in northern hardwood forests.  Ecologists have also expressed concern over the facilitative effect high deer populations have on invasions of exotic plant species.  In a study of eastern hemlock forests, browsing by white-tailed deer caused populations of three exotic plants to rise faster than in the absence of deer.  Seedlings of the three invading species rose exponentially with deer density, while the most common native species fell exponentially with deer density, because deer were preferentially eating the native species.
Females enter estrus, colloquially called the rut, in the autumn, normally in late October or early November, triggered mainly by the declining photoperiod. Sexual maturation of females depends on population density as well as availability of food.  

Females give birth to 1–3 spotted young, known as fawns, in mid to late spring, generally in May or June.  Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and will weigh from 44 to 77 pounds by the first winter.  Male fawns tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females.  For the first four weeks, fawns mostly lie still and hide in vegetation while their mothers forage.  Whitetail Bucks are generally sexually mature at 1.5 years old and will begin to breed even in populations stacked with older bucks.

Whitetail Males compete for the opportunity of breeding females.  Sparring among males determines a dominance hierarchy.  Bucks will attempt to copulate with as many females as possible, losing physical condition since they rarely eat or rest during the rut.  If there are numerous males in a particular area, then they will compete more for the females. If there are fewer males or more females, then the selection process will not need to be as competitive.

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - A New Creation

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - Snow From Heaven

To Order: Deer Art Deer Print - Morning Sun

 

The Rocky Mountain Elk is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America. The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the lower elevations. In the summer it migrates to the subalpine forests and alpine basins. The total wild population is about 800,000 individuals.

To order: Elk Art - The Herd

 

As of 2010, environmental and Chronic Wasting Disease problems in Estes Park, Colorado and on a greater scale throughout the Western U.S. and North America have local, state, and federal policy makers searching for solutions.
The Rocky Mountain National Park and the Estes Park environments are physically disrupted by the migration of the elk, ranging in size from calves to full grown 700 lbs. adults. Several indigenous butterfly and plant species are harmed, especially the aspen groves that the elk herd of perhaps 3,000 animals decimates in its search for food. The elk population, while taxing the common food resources, also adversely affects native species that share the same food supply such as the indigenous beavers.
The elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest land mammals in North America and eastern Asia. In the deer family (Cervidae), only the larger moose (Alces alces), which is called an "elk" in Europe, and the sambar (Rusa unicolor) rival the elk in size. Elk are similar to the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) found in Europe, of which they were long believed to be a subspecies. However, evidence from a 2004 study of the mitochondrial DNA indicates they are a distinct species.

To Order: Elk Art - Monarch

Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark. Although native to North America and Eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries where they have been introduced, including Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Their great adaptability may threaten endemic species and ecosystems into which they have been introduced.
Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year.

 

Males also engage in ritualized mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling (sparring), and bugling, a loud series of vocalizations which establishes dominance over other males and attracts females.

To Order: Elk Art - Standing Where Eagles Soar

Elk are susceptible to a number of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to livestock. Efforts to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely through vaccination, have had mixed success.  Some cultures revere the elk as a spiritual force. In parts of Asia, antlers and their velvet are used in traditional medicines. Elk are hunted as a game species; the meat is leaner and higher in protein than beef or chicken
Adult elk usually stay in single-sex groups for most of the year. During the mating period known as the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem. Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth. This allows potential combatants to assess the other's antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows.

To Order: Elk Art - Band of Brothers

Dominant bulls follow groups of cows during the rut, from August into early winter. A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators. Only mature bulls have large harems and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls between two to four years and over 11 years of age rarely have harems, and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems. Young and old bulls that do acquire a harem hold it later in the breeding season than do bulls in their prime. A bull with a harem rarely feeds and he may lose up to 20 percent of his body weight. Bulls that enter the rut in poor condition are less likely to make it through to the peak conception period or have the strength to survive the rigors of the oncoming winter.
Bulls have a loud vocalization consisting of screams known as bugling, which can be heard for miles. Bugling is often associated with an adaptation to open environments such as parklands, meadows, and savannas, where sound can travel great distances. Females are attracted to the males that bugle more often and have the loudest call. Bugling is most common early and late in the day and is one of the most distinctive sounds in nature, akin to the howl of the gray wolf.

To Order: Elk Art - Defending the Homeland

Female elk have a short estrus cycle of only a day or two, and matings usually involve a dozen or more attempts. By the autumn of their second year, females can produce one and, very rarely, two offspring, although reproduction is most common when cows weigh at least 200 kilograms (440 lb). The gestation period is 240 to 262 days and the offspring weigh between 15 and 16 kilograms (33 and 35 lb). When the females are near to giving birth, they tend to isolate themselves from the main herd, and will remain isolated until the calf is large enough to escape predators. Calves are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and they lose their spots by the end of summer. Manchurian wapiti may retain a few orange spots on the back of their summer coats until they are older. After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd, and are fully weaned at two months of age. Elk calves are as large as an adult white-tailed deer by the time they are six months old. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost a year, leaving about the time that the next season's offspring are produced. The gestation period is the same for all subspecies.

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