Elk reference · Comparison
Two deer that share almost nothing else. The elk is a big temperate-mountain animal where only bulls carry antlers; the caribou is an Arctic traveler on snowshoe hooves where cows grow antlers too. Plus the answer to the question underneath the question: yes, a reindeer is a caribou.
First, the reindeer question
Same species — Rangifer tarandus. “Caribou” is what we call the wild animals of North America; “reindeer” is the Old World name and the word used for domesticated herds in Scandinavia and Siberia. So a reindeer is a caribou, a caribou is a reindeer, and neither one is an elk. All three are deer, and that is where the family resemblance ends.
The single most distinctive caribou trait: both sexes grow antlers. No other deer does that — not elk, not moose, not whitetail. Below, the rest of the differences.
Head to head
| Trait | Elk (wapiti) | Caribou (reindeer) |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Cervus canadensis | Rangifer tarandus |
| Other name | Wapiti | Reindeer (Eurasian / domesticated) |
| Bull / bull weight | 700–1,100 lb | 350–400 lb (to ~700 for big bulls) |
| Who grows antlers | Males only | Both males AND females (unique) |
| Antler shape | Branching, vertical tines, long beams | Long, curved, forward-sweeping with a brow 'shovel' |
| Hooves | Standard cloven hoof | Large, concave — snowshoes for tundra + good for swimming |
| Habitat | Temperate forest-meadow edge | Arctic + subarctic tundra and boreal forest |
| Range | Western US + reintroduced east | Alaska, northern Canada, circumpolar Arctic |
| Migration | Elevational (up/down the mountain) | Long-distance — among the longest land migrations on Earth |
| Social | Herds of tens to low hundreds | Herds that can number in the tens of thousands |
Frequently asked
Elk (Cervus canadensis) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are both deer, but they differ in nearly every detail. Elk are larger-bodied (bulls 700–1,100 lb vs 350–400 for caribou), live in temperate forest-meadow country, and only males grow antlers. Caribou live in the Arctic and subarctic, have large concave 'snowshoe' hooves, migrate enormous distances, and — uniquely among deer — both males and females grow antlers.
Yes. Reindeer and caribou are the same species, Rangifer tarandus. 'Caribou' is the name used for the wild animals of North America; 'reindeer' is the name used in Europe and Asia and for domesticated herds. So a reindeer is a caribou, and neither is an elk — though all three are members of the deer family.
Yes — caribou are the only deer species in which both males and females grow antlers. (This is the biological reason Santa's antlered reindeer would all have to be female or young, since mature males typically shed their antlers before late December.) Elk, by contrast, grow antlers only on males.
No — an elk is larger. A bull elk weighs 700 to 1,100 pounds; a caribou bull typically weighs 350 to 400 pounds, with the largest reaching around 700. Elk are the second-largest deer in the world after moose; caribou are mid-sized. The animals also live in completely different country — elk in temperate mountains, caribou in the Arctic.
Rarely. Elk occupy temperate western North America — the Rockies, the interior West, the Pacific coast, and reintroduced eastern herds. Caribou live in the Arctic and subarctic: Alaska, northern Canada, and across the circumpolar north. Woodland caribou once ranged into the northern Lower 48 but are now nearly gone from the contiguous United States, so overlap with elk is minimal.
From the page to the field
Elk Glade guides bull elk on GMU 59 limited entry, on the south slope of Pikes Peak — inside the largest elk population on Earth. Archery, muzzleloader, and four rifle seasons.
