The wapiti is a large deer found in herds in North America’s Yellowstone region.
Males have large branched antlers that are shed and regrown in spring.
Wapiti sometimes produce high and low tones simultaneously within a single call. These combinations occur not only in male breeding calls but also in calls from calves and females separated for weaning. Pitch rises and falls within calls, and the breadth of that variation differs between young animals and adults.
A 2025 study analysed Rocky Mountain wapiti recorded at a ranch near Edmonton, Canada, in 2013 and 2014. Researchers selected ten individuals from each of four groups: newborns, calves separated for weaning, separated mothers and breeding males. The analysis included 231 calls. Two simultaneous tones occurred in all four categories and in every analysed male bugle. Male calls lasted about three seconds on average and reached their highest pitch late in the call. Calls in the other groups averaged less than a second, with the pitch peak occurring earlier. Despite their shared high-pitched quality, calls differed in duration and the course of pitch change.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In December 2024, Point Reyes National Seashore finalized a management plan for tule elk, a wapiti subspecies, at Tomales Point. It called for removing the enclosure fence and temporary water systems installed during the recent drought. The National Park Service identified access to additional habitat, greater drought resilience and a more natural population cycle as intended benefits. The regional plan was developed in consultation with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.