Bull Elk at Yellowstone

Jan 25, 2016 | AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, Daily Image 2016, Elk, Nikon D200, Wildlife

Bull Elk at Yellowstone  Today Elk live primarily in western North America in mountainous areas such as Wyoming’s National Elk Refuge near the Grand Tetons NP and Yellowstone National Park NP.  This Bull Elk image was captured in Yellowstone; one of my favorite winter shooting locations.  Elk are related to deer but are much larger. A bull elk’s antlers can reach 4 feet above its head making it tower to 9 feet tall.  Bull elk lose their antlers each March, but they begin to grow back in May in preparation for the late-summer breeding season.

In early summer, elk migrate to high mountain grazing grounds where the cows give birth. Each cow typically has a single calf, which can stand by the time it is 20 minutes old.  During fall breeding season the bugling of bull elk echoes through the mountains and valleys.  They strip the velvet off their new antlers and use them in violent clashes to determine who gets to mate with the herd.  Males with the bigger antlers, typically older, usually win and dominate the small herds.  As winter arrives, the Elk form into larger herds, though bulls and cows typically remain separate.  The herds return to lower valley pastures where elk spend the season pawing through snow to graze on grass or settling for shrubs not buried in snow.