Beijing elk a possible mascot for 2022 Winter Olympics

The elk living in Beijing's southern suburbs are in the running to be picked as one of the mascots for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, reports Beijing News. Authorities in Daxing District announced the decision on Monday at a news briefing held at the elk reserve at Nanhaizi.

An elk in a meadow at the Nanhaizi Elk Park in Daxing District in Beijing on Monday, August 20, 2018. [Photo: The Beijing News]

Elk are native to China, and have been living in this part of the world for more than three million years. As well as being fast runners and good swimmers, elk are well adapted to living in cold and snowy environments.

Elk have always played an important role in traditional Chinese culture. Thousands of years ago, elk bones were used as oracle bones, onto which were carved some of the earliest forms of Chinese writing. And the Chinese name for elk, "milu", is auspicious: "lu" is a homophone for "salary or wealth" in Chinese.

Elk in wetland at the Nanhaizi Elk Park in Daxing District in Beijing on Monday, August 20, 2018. [Photo: The Beijing News]

Elk were extinct in China towards the end of the last century. But they were reintroduced into the country in 1985 when the British Tavistock Marquis gifted 20 elk to Beijing. These elk have since become a sustainable colony in the Nanhaizi Elk Park in Daxing. Local authorities in Daxing have actively promoted their cultural brand by building an elk museum and holding events that highlight the importance of elk in Chinese culture.