How old is my elk?

[Western Hunter]

This article is shared from the RMEF website, you can view the original article here- http://www.rmef.org/AllAboutElk/Elk101/Teeth.htm

 

How old is my elk?If you are one of the fortunate hunters to have killed an elk,   you’re likely curious about its age. Without the trained eye of a biologist   or a taxidermist, determining that can seem daunting.However, elk are relatively easy to age up through 3½ years,   when their incisors are still developing. After 3½, aging gets tougher, as   the incisors, molars and premolars are all fully developed. Elk chew from   side‑to‑side and slowly wear down their molars and premolars. The canines or   ivories become shorter and more rounded. The incisors, too, become shorter.   For example, the two front incisors on an 8½-year-old can have as little as ½   inch of tooth left before the gum line.If elk survive a dozen years or more, tooth wear and decaying   teeth can prevent them from getting enough forage. Eventually, they succumb   to the elements, because they can’t eat enough to take them through the   winter.How old do you think this elk is?Answer

The bull attached to this jaw was a healthy 5×6, perhaps 3 ½ to 4 ½ years   old. The fully developed incisors and minimal wear on molars and premolars,   coupled with the fact he was killed in a heavily hunted area where bulls   rarely grow older than 5 ½ brought us to this conclusion. If you have a lower   jaw to your elk and would like to have it aged to the year, check out   Matson’s Laboratory (www.matsonslab.com) in Milltown, Montana   where they can age your animal using an incisor.

 

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