Elk

“Talking of adventure, how'd you like to learn how to track elk? Really big ones in the valley this time of year. We could use the meat.”

–John Marston to Jack Marston

Elk are animals featured in Red Dead Redemption.

Description

Elk can be hunted and skinned. Rank 7 of the Master Hunter Challenges requires the player to collect five portions of Elk Meat. Hunting elk is an extremely lucrative business, and their meat and fur sells highly in Mexico, as it is not a local animal.

Locations

Elk can be found in the general area of mountains and forests of West Elizabeth shown on the map or specifically:

Around Manzanita Post (Top right corner of picture on map in game).
The entire area of Tall Trees.
South-west of Manzanita Post (Depicted by a picture of bighorn sheep on the map).
Around Beecher's Hope
Good location is also around the Nekoti Rock, near the crossroad (along with a lot of bears).

There is an elk spawning point just east of Bearclaw Camp, in a sort of ditch from where you can overlook the railway camp to the south-east, just remain in the area and two elk shall spawn.

In the area southwest of Manzanita, (with the Bighorn pictures on the map) between the front and rear legs of the middle bighorn sheep on depicted in the map.

During the misson: "John Marston and Son", John Marston and Jack Marston go out to find, kill and skin elk in Tall Trees.

Characteristics

Elk are one of the largest species of deer in the world, second only to the moose. Their antlers grow up to 4 feet long and can weigh up to 40 pounds. Elk are prized by hunters for their hides and meat, which is low in fat and high in protein. Known predators are the Grizzly Bears, Wolves and Cougars. They average about 6 feet tall and typically weigh around 800 pounds. The elk is a passive animal and will flee as soon as it detects the player or a predatory animal. They are easy to spot due to their sheer size and antlers that reflect the sunlight, and will either be brown or a lighter grey color. Also, listen for their distinctive high-pitched bugling sounds that occur in long notes or in short, quick notes like chirping, like in real elk. When killing an Elk, the player could easily know it is a bull elk because it makes a "moo" sound after getting shot.

Videos

Video with one of the best locations for elk hunting.

Red_Dead_Redemption_Best_Elk_Hunting_Locations_in_*HD*_(Funny) — Red Dead Redemption Best Elk Hunting Locations in *HD* (Funny)

Trivia

The game states that Elk are the largest species of deer in the world. In fact, the largest extant species of the deer family in the world is the Moose (Alces alces).
Early after the game's release, many players believed that the elk was in fact a moose at first sight.
Areas such as Manzanita Post are decorated with elk and moose antlers. However, there are no Moose present in-game.
The type of Elk in the game is likely the Rocky Mountain subspecies of Elk. They are closely related to Red Deer, a European species.
Historically, there were six different subspecies of elk in North America. Two subspecies - the Eastern Elk, and Mirriams Elk are now extinct. The four remaining subspecies are the Tule Elk, Rocky Mountain Elk, Roosevelt Elk, and Manitoban Elk.
Whilst the deer featured in the game are present in both genders (The 'buck ' being male and the 'doe' being female), the elk appear to all be male. This is because only elk bulls (male) sport the antlers for which they are recognized; elk cows (female) do not have antlers.
Elk, like many other animals, can not be found in Undead Nightmare.
There are two varieties of elk present in-game, a pale elk and a yellowish one. The pale type seems to have larger antlers.