Cervus canadensis, Erxleben, 1777

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Cervidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 350-443 : 423

26.

Wapiti

Cervus canadensis

French: Cerf wapiti / German: Wapiti / Spanish: Uapiti

Other common names: Elk (in North America); Alashan Wapiti (alashanicus), lzubra/Manchurian Wapiti (xanthopygus), Merriam'’s Wapiti (merriami), Tule Elk (in California)

Taxonomy. Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777 ,

E Canada.

Here four subspecies are recognized. Two subspecies (the Siberian and the American ones) are more advanced, more associated to open habitats, with longer antlers and more contrasted coat markings. Wapiti likely originated in Beringia (NE Siberia-Alaska) during the last glaciation and about 12,000 years ago migrated westward into south Siberia and eastward into North America.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C.c.canadensisErxleben,1777—NorthAmerica.

C.c.alashanicusBobrinskii&Flerov,1935—NChina(HelanShanMts,Ningxia&NeiMongol).

C.c.sibiricusSevertzov,1873—fromTienShantoAltaiandWBaikal(KirgyzstanandNXinjiangtoSSiberiaandNMongolia).

C. c. xanthopygus Milne-Edwards, 1867 — SW Siberia, Ussuriland, and Manchuria.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 210-240 cm for males (bulls) and 190-230 cm for females (cows), tail 10-16 cm, shoulder height 145-165 cm (bulls) and 130-150 cm (cows); postrutting weight 220-400 kg (bulls) and 150-250 kg (cows). The heaviest animals occur in southern Canada and northern USA (with records of 470-530 kg lean weight for bulls and 345 kg for cows), the lightest in Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), the Ussuri region, and California. Adult bulls are on average 30-60% heavier than cows. Large-sized deer with a large, pale rump patch extending into the croup, a short tail, and a six-tined antler plan. The color patterns of the coat and especially of the rump patch vary by subspecies. In the primitive “Alashan Wapiti” (alashanicus) the rump patch is white below and yellow-brown above, dorsally bisected by a dark stripe and laterally bordered by a dark rim that fades out in the upper portion; the tail is white and dark. In the other primitive subspecies, the “Izubra Wapiti” (xanthopygus) the rump patch is orange or reddish, laterally bordered on the lower half by a dark rim; the tail is orange. In the Siberian and North American advanced subspecies the large rump patch is pale yellowish, with a short tail of the same color. In advanced Wapiti both males and females develop a neck mane, with extentions onto the nape and the withers; the head, neck, and legs are dark and the back and flanks are paler in color. Preorbital, metatarsal, rear interdigital, and subcaudal glands are present. Red deer have a permanent dentition of 34 teeth. Molars erupt at 7-28 months of age. The antlers of stags are six-tined and are typically long, bending backward at the fourth tine (“dagger”). The terminal part of the beam branches serially. The third tine (trez) is relatively short, the fourth is long. Pedicles begin to grow at 9-10 months of age, the first set of antlers at twelve months. Yearlings may be “spikers” or may have forked or more complex antlers. At about ten years antlers attain their full size. They are on average 85-130 cm long, with a brutto weight (antler pair plus skull) of 6-12 kg, but there are records of 164 cm for antler beam length and of 19-24 kg for trophy mass. Relative antler mass is lower than in Western Red Deer ( C. elaphus ). Wapiti rarely grow extra tines. In adult bulls velvet shedding occurs in August, antler casting in February— March. Hooves are 11-13 cm long in adult bulls and 10-12 cm in cows.

Habitat. Alashan and Izubra Wapitilive in forests; Siberian and North American Wapiti are adapted to open grasslands, prairies, and steppes. High flexibility and lack of competition have allowed North American Wapiti to colonize moist cold forests, dry conifer forests, mixed conifer-broadleaved forests, and chaparral scrub. Snow deeper than 70-75 cm is a limiting factor. Wapiti occur up to 1900 m above sea level in the Altai, 3300 m in the Alatau, and 3100 m in the Rocky Mountains.

Food and Feeding. It is mainly a grazer, feeding on grasses, sedges, and forbs and supplementing the diet with twigs and leaves in winter. Alashan and Izubra Wapiti tend to eat higher proportions of browse.

Breeding. Puberty may be attained by females at 16-28 months of age, depending on the physical condition. Males reach physiological sexual maturity at 16 months of age but usually begin to have a chance to breed when they are five years old. Rut occurs in September—October. Cows are seasonally polyestrous, with cycles of 21 days. Adult bulls move to the traditional rutting grounds and compete to defend a harem. Siberian and American bulls emit bugles, high-pitched rutting calls. Izubra bulls have a modified bugle with lower frequencies. Bulls spray urine on their chests, wallow, dig ground, and horn vegetation. The courtship posture is peculiar, with the head raised high and antlers tilted upwards. During the rut bulls lose up to 20% oftheir pre-rut body weight. The mean length of gestation is 247 days. Calving season peaks in May-June. Cows give birth to a single calf weighing 11-17 kg. Forthe first ten days calves are hidden and suckled 4-6 times a day. Weaning occurs at 6-9 months of age. Breeding life span in bulls is restricted to 3-5 years; cows may reproduce up to 12-16 years. Bulls do not reach their full body weight before 7-9 years of age, but cows attain adult size at 3-6 years. Normally they live to a maximum of 17-18 years. The main predator is the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) and (in North America) Pumas (Puma concolor) may prey on adults. Lynxes (Lynx spp.), Wolverines (Gulo gulo) and (in North America) Black Bears (U. americanus) and Coyotes (C. latrans) may kill calves.

Activity patterns. Active all the day with peaks at dawn and dusk.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. It is a cursorial long-legged deer, able to run at high speed in open ground. Bulls are more mobile than cows and have larger home ranges. In the mountains, some or all of the population may be migratory. Animals move 50-65 km on average from higher summer ranges to lower winter ranges. These seasonal migrations can be longer, up to 140 km in the Altai and Sayan Mountains and up to 130-180 km in the Rocky Mountains. Wapiti are social, with matrilinear family groups and small bands of bachelor bulls. In open ground, many groups form large aggregations, up to 400-500 animals in summer, up to 800-1500 in winter.

Status and Conservation. Until recently often considered a subspecies of the Red Deer and thus not evaluated on The IUCN Red List, but could be classified as not currently at risk and globally increasing. In North America from the second half of the 18" century to the late 19" century it was actively persecuted and disappeared from vast regions. In the early 1900sit reached the minimum population size, around 90,000 individuals. Active protection by means of national parks and refuges and law enforcement, and massive translocation programs, contributed to a recovery and range expansion. In the late 1980s the total population size was estimated at 800,000 animals; it grew to about one million in the late 1990s. Annual harvest in North America is around 200,000 individuals. Californian Wapiti, known as “Tule Elk,” had dropped to 2-5 individuals in 1875;strict protection and transplants contributed to the recovery of the population, which in 1971 numbered 500 animals in three herds and in 2010 numbered 3900 in 22 herds. In the late 1990s there were 8000-10,000 deer in Mongolia and around 160,000 in Siberia and Ussuriland. The status of Alashan Wapiti of northern China is unknown.

Bibliography. Baskin & Danell (2003), Bender et al. (2003), Bender & Haufler (1999), Boyce (1989), Boyce & Hayden-Wing (1979), Crete & Daigle (1999), Danilkin (1999), Flook (1970), Geist (1998), Gill (1990), Haigh (2001), McCullough (1969), Peek (2003), Struhsaker (1967), Thomas & Toweill (1982), Wolfe (1982).

Figures

23. Sika Deer (Cervus nippon), 24. Central Asian Red Deer (Cervus wallichii), 25. Western Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), 26. Wapiti (Cervus canadensis)

Subspecies and Distribution. C.c.canadensisErxleben,1777—NorthAmerica. C.c.alashanicusBobrinskii&Flerov,1935—NChina(HelanShanMts,Ningxia&NeiMongol). C.c.sibiricusSevertzov,1873—fromTienShantoAltaiandWBaikal(KirgyzstanandNXinjiangtoSSiberiaandNMongolia). C. c. xanthopygus Milne-Edwards, 1867 — SW Siberia, Ussuriland, and Manchuria.