蜜芽传媒

In this episode best-selling author Katherine Rundell focuses on the elk - known in North America as the moose. It鈥檚 the largest species of deer, standing up to seven feet tall at the shoulder. Only males grow antlers, which can expand at a rate of an inch a day. Historical accounts include Tycho Brahe keeping an elk as a companion, and Olaus Magnus claiming they were once banned as riding animals in Sweden due to their speed.

The elk has been extinct in Britain for thousands of years, but its population has fluctuated elsewhere. The Caucasian moose disappeared in the 20th century, but other populations have recovered. In Poland, numbers rose from just 2,000 in the 1990s to around 30,000 after hunting was halted.

Elk have also returned to parts of the United States where they hadn鈥檛 been seen since the 19th century, including Massachusetts and Colorado. The episode highlights the elk as a symbol of how conservation efforts, when sustained and focused, can reverse the decline of even the largest and most vulnerable species.

Written and presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced for 蜜芽传媒 Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan