'Elk' means 'moose' in British English, right?

The comments are completely contradictory, so here’s a clarification: The moose (*Alces alces*) is sometimes called “elk” in British English/when referring to the Eurasian population of this species. You will also hear “moose” a lot in the UK though because of American influence. In North America the word “elk” is used to refer to *Cervus canadensis*, a different animal. This has probably also had an effect on British English.

Just to add to the confusion, I am a native British English speaker and I have never heard anyone ever refer to a Moose as an Elk.

Tricky. Historically this has been one of those words that has a different meaning each side of the Atlantic. Traditionally the word Elk when used in British English did mean the North American creature that is locally called a Moose. That being said, these days as a British speaker I would never call the North American creature anything other than a moose. Bit like biscuit, candy, pudding etc.

They’re different animals.

no, they are different animals in the family cervidae.  

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Technically yes but as they don't exist in Britain, many discussions involving elk or moose require extra clarification.

Yes, it's *Alces alces.*

Yes, Elk is the traditional name as the Latin name alces alces shows. For example in Swedish it is "älg" (ä is pronounced like the e "elk"). There were no elks in England so the settlers who moved to America called a wrong animal an elk. "Moose" on the other hand comes from Native American languages. What Americans call an elk is called a wapiti (with different versions, like vapiti in Finnish) in Europe. It also comes from Native American languages. I find weird to call an European species on a Native American derived term. Current knowledge sees the American and European animals as different species: alces americanus and alces alces. The former also lives in Asia.

Moose and elk are not the same thing

My sister was bitten by a moose. (Or, was it an elk? No. Definitely a moose, pretty sure.)

Newfoundland and Labrador’s crest features an elk not a moose because the College of Arms in London couldn’t find a usable image of a moose. Or didn’t care to try.

There are times I prefer American English and this is one of them. Moose and Elk are different flipping animals! Lots of Love, An Australian

It would be a lot simpler if the North Americans could stick to calling an elk/älg/elch an elk, and call their ‘elk’ something else, as the elk/älg/elch is the original.

Because we don't have them in the UK a lot of people don't make the distinction between the 2 animals, so the 2 words are often used imprecisely and interchangeably. This isn't correct, but it's kind of irrelevant to most people in everyday life here.

'Elk' is an English word related to the Norwegian 'Elg' which refers to the animal known in America as a Moose. 'Elk' in America refers to a different animal because when settlers first arrived they thought they were Elks, when in fact they were just big Deer. 'Moose' is from the native American name for that animal. Basically, What Americans call a Moose is actually an Elk and what they call an Elk is actually a Deer. British English never changed the meanings, so technically the answer to your question is yes. In British English, an Elk and a Moose are the same thing. However, in my experience, native British English speakers don't tend to use the word Elk at all. We tend to use the American word Moose for that animal (What Norwegians would call _en elg_ and Americans call _a moose_), probably due to American influence.

Elk means elk, as far as I’m aware… Likewise moose

Elk and moose are different species of related animals. They're both different species of *deer*, and they both can have antlers. Their antlers are different shapes, and a great way to tell them apart. Moose are larger then elk.

I was under the impression they were different animals

They're the same animal, yes. When Europeans arrived in North America they encountered a large deer that the natives called a Wapiti.  The settlers though the Wapiti reminded them of the Elk of Northern Europe, so they started calling them Elk. Then they got further north and discovered to their surprise that actual Elk also live in North America.  But everyone was used to using the word Elk to describe the Wapiti, so they started using the Algonquin name to refer to the actual Elk; Moose.  And that is the story of why Americans call Elk "Moose" and call something else "Elk".

No. The two are similar animals, but not the same. Most people that don’t know regional ecology will use them nearly interchangeably, but they are not the same species.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/elk#google_vignette