California Department of Fish and Wildlife  Distribution & Range
Previous distribution of Elk in California  Tule elk are endemic
to California and the most specialized elk in North America,
given that they live in open country under semi-desert
conditions, whereas the species as a whole typically occupies
temperate climates and utilizes heavy cover at least seasonally
(McCullough, 1969). In its historic range, the tule elk once
occupied much of the central state. Their range spanned east of
the foothills of the Sierra Nevada west to the coast line and
north from the headwaters of the Sacramento River south to the
Tehachapi Mountains. The variation in climate and topography
illustrate the great adaptability of the tule elk (Phillips,
1976). Accounts in journals and diaries of early explorers
indicate that approximately 500,000 tule elk inhabited the
State. Between 1800 and 1840 hide and tallow hunters took large
numbers of elk. From 1840 to 1849 southern Sacramento began to
see a reduction in elk numbers due