Native Hooved Animal Enclosure

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This 110-acre fenced enclosure is home to bison, elk and white-tailed deer. Bring your family to stare a buffalo in the eye or enjoy watching a family of elk playing in a pasture.  The United States Department of Agriculture/ Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) IS NO LONGER PERMITTING PUBLIC FEEDING. 

The Animal Enclosure is located at 6010 East Park Road, near Lake Jacomo in Fleming Park.  
 

Elk Fun Facts

Group of elk in the snowThe elk, one of the largest mammals in North America, is the 2nd largest species of deer in the world. In the deer family, only their cousin, the moose, is larger.
 

Elk feed on grasses, plants, leaves and bark. Males are called "bulls," females are "cows," and their offspring are "calves."

Only the males have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each winter. Antlers are made of bone that can grow at a rate of 1 inch per day.

Bulls can make loud noises known as bugling (download an mp3 file of an elk bellow (MP3)) that can be heard for miles. Females are attracted to males that bugle more often and have the loudest call. During the fall, elk grow a thicker coat of hair to keep warm during the winter. By summer they shed this heavy coat. Calves are born spotted, but lose their spots by the end of the summer months.

Elk live 20 years or longer in captivity, while averaging just 10 to 13 years in the wild.
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