What Is a Group of Elk Called?

Gang is the term you’ll most often see attached to elk, whether they’re grazing in a meadow or moving together as a herd shifts ground. Herd is the broader, more common alternate, the same general term used across most hoofed, grazing mammals, and it’s arguably the word most people reach for first when they see a group of elk in the wild.

Where Did the Name Come From?

Many classic collective nouns for animals, like a murder of crows or a parliament of owls, trace back to English hunting terminology recorded in lists such as the Book of Saint Albans (1486). “Gang” has a more general history: in Old and Middle English it simply meant a group of people, animals, or things moving or working together, and that broader sense was later applied to herds of elk as the word settled into everyday American and Canadian usage. It reads less like a whimsical medieval hunting term and more like a plain descriptive label. Worth noting too: the animal North Americans call “elk” (Cervus canadensis) is a different species from the animal Europeans call “elk,” which is what Americans call a moose (Alces alces). Elk-specific collective nouns are largely a New World tradition rather than an entry lifted straight from an old English hunting manual.

Elk Facts

• Bugling: During the fall rut, bull elk let out a loud, high-pitched bugle to attract mates and challenge rival males, one of the most recognizable sounds in North American wilderness.
• Antlers: Bulls grow a completely new set of antlers every year, shedding the old set in late winter and regrowing them through spring and summer at a rate of up to an inch a day while covered in velvet.
• Size: Elk are among the largest deer species in the world; bulls can weigh over 700 pounds and stand roughly 5 feet tall at the shoulder.
• Social structure: Cows and calves typically form herds year-round, while bulls often live apart in bachelor groups outside the rut and join breeding herds only when mating season arrives.
• Range: Elk are native to North America and parts of Central and East Asia, with the largest populations concentrated in the Rocky Mountains, from western Canada down through the western United States.
• Migration: Many elk herds migrate seasonally, moving to high-elevation summer range and back down to lower-elevation winter range as snow accumulates.

Example Sentences

• A gang of elk grazed quietly across the meadow as the morning fog began to lift.
• By late September, the herd had grown restless with the sound of bulls bugling across the valley.

Other Names for a Group of Elk

Gang and herd are the two terms you’ll encounter most often, and both are considered standard. Herd is the safer, more universally understood choice, the same word that works for cattle, deer, and most other grazing mammals. Gang is the more distinctive option, giving elk their own identity among collective nouns rather than borrowing the generic term shared by nearly every other hoofed animal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a group of elk called?

A group of elk is most often called a gang, though herd is also very commonly used.

Why are elk called a gang?

Gang originally meant a group moving or working together, and that general sense was applied to elk herds as the word settled into everyday North American usage.

Is a group of elk also called a herd?

Yes, herd is a widely used general term for a group of elk, alongside gang.

What is the scientific name for elk?

Cervus canadensis, sometimes called wapiti to distinguish it from the unrelated animal called elk in Europe, which Americans know as a moose.

Why do bull elk bugle?

Bulls bugle during the fall rut to attract mates and to warn off rival males.