Ruminal Microorganisms from Elk

Abstract

The rumen content from four Yellowstone Park elk (Cervus canadensis), killed in the winter of 1962-63, was examined by microscopic and culture methods for the numbers and kinds of bacteria and protozoa present. The rate of volatile fatty acid production was determined by the zero-time method. Total bacterial counts were similar to those of other ruminants. The incidence of various bacterial genera was similar to that of cattle on poor hay. The oligotrich protozoans were species also found in cattle. Fermentation rates were probably less than required for maintenance. Field laboratory equipment will permit studies on wild ruminants equal to that on domestic animals. Such studies are of additional value in the assessment of animal and environmental conditions. Studies on the rumen of wild ruminant animals in their native state have generally been concerned with a gross appraisal of the numbers of bacteria present (Pearson 1965), the rate of the fermentation (Short 1963), the fermentation products (Short et al. 1966), or a combination of these (Briiggemann et al. 1965). Except for a few isolations from African antelope (Hungate et al. 1959) the kinds of ruminal bacteria and their relative numbers in wild animals have not been determined. The major reduction in the numbers of the Northern Yellowstone Park elk herd during the winter of 1962-63 provided a source of wild animals in an area where a temporary bacteriological laboratory could be established, and permitted the studying of the ruminal microorganisms and the fer-