imported>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#usda.gov

2025-06-28T06:32:24Z

Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#usda.gov

New page

{{Short description|Extinct subspecies of deer}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Merriam's elk
| status = EX
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn | author1= Brook, S.M. | author2 = Pluháček, J. | author3 = Lorenzini, R. | author4 = Lovari, S. | author5 = Masseti, M. | author6 = Pereladova, O. | author7 = Mattioli, S. | title = ''Cervus canadensis'' |errata=2019 | year = 2018 | page = e.T55997823A142396828 |access-date = 9 September 2020}}</ref>
| status2 = TX
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>NatureServe. 1989. ''Cervus elaphus merriami'', Merriam's Elk. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at [https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103499/Cervus_elaphus_merriami] Accessed 9 December 2021.</ref>
| extinct = 1906
| genus = Cervus
| species = canadensis
| species_link = Elk
| authority = ([[Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben|Erxleben]], 1777)<ref>Erxleben, J.C.P. (1777) ''Anfangsgründe der Naturlehre'' and ''Systema regni animalis.''</ref>
| subspecies = merriami
| synonyms = ''Cervus elaphus merriami''
}}

The '''Merriam's elk''' ('''''Cervus canadensis merriami''''') is an [[extinct]] subspecies of [[elk]] once found in the arid lands of the southwestern [[United States]] (in [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]] and [[Texas]]), as well as in [[Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70180821|isbn=9780160532856|title=Elk reintroductions|year=1998 |last1=Puckett Haecker |first1=Catherine E. |last2=Opler |first2=Paul A. |last3=Doran |first3=Peter D. |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey }}</ref> From the first New World arrival of [[Europe]]ans, unregulated [[hunting]], rapid growth of farms and ranches, and uncontrolled livestock grazing had driven the subspecies into extinction. Actual records on wildlife management were not reliably maintained until the late 19th century; the population of Merriam’s elk was experiencing notable decline by the beginning of the 20th century, with the (approximate) year of extinction being 1906.

Another subspecies of elk, the [[eastern elk]] (''Cervus canadensis canadensis''), also became extinct at roughly the same time. Little is known about this subspecies, other than that it once numbered in the tens of millions, and was the main elk subspecies inhabiting areas east of the Mississippi River (though it was noted to have ranged as far west as Wyoming and Utah). Once found in virtually all of the states of the northeast and southeast (including all of the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] from Maine to Georgia, and the [[Midwest]]ern United States), the eastern elk disappeared prior to serious, scientific studies or surveys having taken place. Elk from [[Yellowstone National Park]] were introduced throughout this area in 1913, and are reasonably common in the area today. A notable population seems to be thriving in and around the [[Great Smoky Mountains]], the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], and the [[Daniel Boone National Forest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/danielboone/recreation/opportunities |access-date=31 January 2023 |title=Hunting - Daniel Boone National Forest |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service website}}</ref>

As for Merriam’s elk, as of 2017, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) has reclassified all North American elk subspecies (excluding the Tule and Roosevelt elk) as ''C. c. canadensis''. If this taxonomy is accurate, then the Merriam’s subspecies is not truly extinct but, rather, extirpated (driven away) or depleted from large swathes of its former home range.

==See also==
*[[Roosevelt elk]]
*[[Tule elk]]
*[[Rocky Mountain elk]]
*[[Eastern elk]]

'''General:'''
*[[List of extinct animals of North America]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q859746}}

[[Category:Cervus]]
[[Category:Mammal extinctions since 1500]]
[[Category:Extinct mammals]]
[[Category:Extinct animals of the United States]]
[[Category:Extinct animals of Mexico]]
[[Category:Species made extinct by human activities]]

{{eventoedungulate-stub}}

Merriam's elk - Revision history

imported>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#usda.gov