Whelk slithered round large animals (4)
I believe the answer is:
elks
'round large animals' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both animals as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'whelk slithered' is the wordplay.
'ELKS' is hidden within the letters.
However, I am unsure how this is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for elks that I've seen before include "Large deer of Europe and N America" , "Large deer with flattened antlers" , "Moose(s)" , "Large deer of Northern Europe" , "Moose" .)