European Alces alces are the original Elk (hence "European Elk"). In fact the name Elk derives from the same root as Alces. The name was taken to the Americas by the settlers and transferred to the North American version of the European Red Deer. So it is quite correct to refer to European Alces alces as Elk.
And I use Moose and Wapiti and avoid the word elk for being a) unnecessarily confusing when there are two perfectly good and specific words available that carry no possibility of confusion and b) too likely to lead us to having this conversation again.
And I use Moose and Wapiti and avoid the word elk for being a) unnecessarily confusing when there are two perfectly good and specific words available that carry no possibility of confusion and b) too likely to lead us to having this conversation again.
Also, in addition to all the above I think that in North America the name Wapiti might refer to only one population or subspecies or Cervus canadensis, not the whole population of the continent.
