What elk eat through the seasons

[StartMyHunt]

Joe (Indian Summer), had a question about what elk eat throughout the year and I responded on another thread. In case you missed my response, I thought it might be beneficial to make this subject a new topic.

Elk are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost any type of vegetation in order to survive. However, they prefer the young and tender forbs and shrubs when available. With that in mind, they will seek out forbs such as elkweed and lupine as they emerge in the spring and early summer as well as aspen and willow shoots. After these become less palatable, they will move on to the green grasses that are prevalent during the summer months such as the sedges and fescues. Throughout the fall, elk can be found feeding primarily on dry grasses, aspen leaves, and mature forbs and shrubs. They will continue to utilize this food source as much as possible until covered by snow. During the winter months, elk are in survival mode and will eat tree bark, dig for any of the dead mature forage mentioned above, and eat the tips of aspen and willow.

As for the transitions, elk will follow the melting snow line in the spring as they move into their summer range in the higher elevations, where they will generally stay until pushed out either by hunting pressure or weather in the fall.

Mike

[StartMyHunt]

https://startmyhunt.com/elk-forage-examples/

]For examples of what these plants look like, you can follow this link.

[saddlesore]

A person can readily tell what elk are eating by the texture of their droppings. Loose like small cow pies, they are eating mores grasses. As the lush grasses dry up, that turns to the,pellets. In late fall, they turn everything even harder. Elk have a unique way to adjust their digestion system to what is available. One thing they really get after,is mushrooms. When you find some , you can usually see what e re they are cropped off as elk move thru. Once found, the elk will return to that area. I have found the mushrooms they like in dense stands of lodge pole pine that have very little grass or direct sun light and a lot of duff on the ground. These area can be more productive than swallows or water holes.p

[wawhitey]

Its hard to be sure, because moose hammer it, but it seems to me like the local elk here also eat a lot of ceanothus in the winter. Am i wrong on that?

[StartMyHunt]

Wawhitey,

I do not see why they would not like wild lilac. I am curious, since I have never been to WA, are they the deciduous or evergreen variety that are being eaten in the winter.

Mike

[wawhitey]

Wawhitey,

I do not see why they would not like wild lilac. I am curious, since I have never been to WA, are they the deciduous or evergreen variety that are being eaten in the winter.

Mike

This.

[Swede]

The picture of the Ceanothus (greasewood) is interesting. I have seen elk bed in it, but never have found it in their stomach, or observed where they have been eating it. It is an evergreen.

[saddlesore]

Elk are grazers, not browsers. Late in the year,they will start browsing if nothing more is available but it won't take long for them to head for other feed areas. Ranchers haystack being a prime one.

[Mike_Parson]

great information guys. Thanks a ton for posting this.