Cervus canadensis

Cervus canadensis is split from C. elaphus following the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM 2025). It includes alashanicus, macneilli, wallichii, and xanthopygus, which were considered distinct by Groves and Grubb (2011).

A molecular study by (Lorenzini and Garofalo 2015) suggest the classification of Cervus into four different species corresponding to (1) the western red deer C. elaphus, present in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, (2) the eastern wapiti C. canadensis, dwelling from central to eastern Asia and North America, (3) the sika deer C. nippon, inhabiting north-eastern Asia and Japan, and (4) the Tarim red deer Cervus hangul, present in central Asia. Previously, Cervus canadensis has been included in C. elaphus; i.e., North American elk has been regarded as conspecific with red deer of western Eurasia.

North American subspecies include roosevelti, nelsoni, manitobensis, nannodes, merriami (extinct), and canadensis (extinct) (Meiri et al. 2018).

This species has a broad range across Canada and the U.S. The population suffered steep declines in area of occupancy and abundance after European colonization. The population continues to face threats due to human activities, especially development and agriculture. Thanks to active conservation efforts, the population has stabilized and is increasing in some parts of the range.

This species is found throughout much of the United States and Canada from Yukon, Canada southeast to Ontario, south to western North Carolina in the eastern U.S., and west to the Pacific Coast including along the U.S.-Mexico border (Kohl et al. 2023). Using Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (2025) records from 2005-2025, range extent is estimated to be 8.737 million km² (RARECAT 2025).

Historically, the range also included northern México (Kohl et al. 2023).

There are many occurrences throughout the range.

This species is primarily threatened by habitat loss and habitat degradation due to human activities. Habitat loss is occurring due to development and conversion to agriculture (Kohl et al. 2023). Habitat becomes less suitable due to roads and human presence, often causing elk to avoid otherwise suitable habitat (Kohl et al. 2023, Mumme et al. 2023, Poole et al. 2024, Procko et al. 2024). There are over 10 diseases impacting this species, including some virile enough to slow population growth (Kohl et al. 2023). Approximately 100,000 elk are killed by hunters annually (enviroliteracy.org).