It is also called the Tian Shan elk in North American English.

It is native to the Tian Shan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan, and North Central Xinjiang of western China.

It is the largest subspecies of Asian wapiti, both in body size and antlers.

As a grazing animal, they play an important role in the ecosystem.

[2] Around 50,000 individual Tian Shan elk are left in the wild, and they are declining at a rapid rate.