The elk with it's mouth agape all the time, what's with the light colored hole below his eyes? Is that something that's common with elk or is it some kind of disfigurement?
I believe that is a scent gland...
aaahhh. I obviously don't know much about elk.
The preorbital gland is a paired exocrine gland found in many species of hoofed animals, which is homologous to the lacrimal gland found in humans. These glands are trenchlike slits of dark blue to black, nearly bare skin extending from the medial canthus of each eye. They are lined by a combination of sebaceous and sudoriferous glands, and they produce secretions which contain pheromones and other semiochemical compounds.[1] Ungulates frequently deposit these secretions on twigs and grass as a means of communication with other animals.[2][3]
The preorbital gland serves different roles in different species. Pheromone-containing secretions from the preorbital gland may serve to establish an animal's dominance (especially in preparation for breeding),[4] mark its territory, or simply to produce a pleasurable sensation to the animal.[5] Because of its critical role in scent marking, the preorbital gland is usually considered as a type of scent gland. A further function of these glands may be to produce antimicrobial compounds against skin pathogens. Antimicrobial compounds found in these glands may be biosynthesized by the animal itself, or by microorganisms that live in these glands.[6]
