Congenital Vertebral Malformation in a Neonatal Elk (Cervus canadensis) in Kentucky, USA

We captured a <1-d-old male elk calf (Cervus canadensis) with a shortened neck. Postmortem examination revealed trauma, meconium aspiration syndrome, and cervical vertebral malformation (partial fusion and narrowed disc spaces). This observation is novel in a wild elk calf, although the gross lesions resembled complex vertebral malformation in neonatal cattle.