Eastern Elk

1414 CE

“By the late 1400s elk were the most widespread hoofed animal in the New World and could be found throughout most of North America. Eastern elk inhabited the vast forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States as far west as the Mississippi River. As people continued to settle in the region over the next few centuries elk populations decreased due to over-hunting and the loss of their dense woodland habitat. …. By the end of the nineteenth century the Eastern elk was completely extinct.”

Source: US Fish and Wildlife Services.

Image: American Elk, circa 1845, Wikimedia Commons