Red deer and Wapiti

_{Species depicted: Red deer (Cervus elaphis) and Wapiti or Elk (Cervus canadensis)
Time taken: 7 hourss 10 minutes
References used: 4.bp.blogspot.com/-jAjoqMz-2k4… 2.bp.blogspot.com/-7bQ_KDCdfEc… www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/gal… seniorhousingoptions.org/wordp… www.iyufera.com/data/photos/53… amongst many others
Tools of the trade: Photoshop CS5}

Commission for an off-deviantart client.

Here are a Red deer hind (female) and hart (male) on the left, with a Wapiti bull (male) on the right. Both males are giving off a rutting call. When people ask me what a Wapiti is, I often tell them it's basically the North American equivalent of our European red deer, but although they are taxonomically very close, there is an interesting difference in their rutting calls.

Male Wapiti or Elk 'bugle', giving off a high pitched scream or yelp that may carry for miles, attracting potential mates. Red deer on the other hand give something more akin to a roar, not only used to attract mates but also to keep his harem together and warn off potential competitors. These different calls have likely originated as adaptation to the species' respective environments: across the open grasslands that Wapiti inhabit a high pitched call can carry for miles, whereas in the dense forest a Red deer would call home a low, deep sound carries furthest.