Winter Wildlife: Elk

Winter is approaching. And with it comes opportunity for interesting if not fascinating wildlife photography.

Continuing the series on "Winter Wildlife" Photos: Elk

Elk in Jasper, Alberta

Elk from Medicine Lake, Alberta

Elk in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State

New Year Babies: Elk

In Arizona, Elk are very shy, if not afraid of humans. Typically they run as fast as they can when they see people -- even if already several hundred yards away. However, there are places like Jasper and Banff in Canada, and Yellowstone in the US where Elk pay little attention to humans.

Here in the little village of Mammoth in Yellowstone an Elk is nursing her young:

Elk with Fawn

31 Days of My Best for 2014

December 9, 2014

Elk

Wildlife at Yellowstone National Park - V

Elk. Elk fall in the same category as Bison. I don't go to Yellowstone in hopes of finding them to photograph. Got plenty already. And, as is the case with the Bison, I don't usually stop no matter how big the crowd. Yet, on occasion one catches my eye and begs for a photo. 

In the first photo, I was out Hayden Valley very early one morning and saw this big Bull Elk wading in water eating the vegetation. I was worth the stop and photo:

Big Bull Elk

The second photo, taken in the town of Mammoth, sleeping on grass in the center of the town was this young fawn. I just wanted a photo:

Elk Fawn

Yellowstone Elk

So I started thinking, after all the times I've been to Yellowstone National Park, I must have at least one "5" Star Elk Photo, right? Are Elk becoming like Deer to me  -- i.e. I just pass them by without stopping? The answer is "sometimes." If I am in Northern Arizona, and I see Elk I try to get a photo -- before they run away. (Elk in hunting areas are hard to find and usually run away as soon as they see humans). However, when I go to Yellowstone, I am looking for, hoping to find, hoping to photograph Gray Wolves or Grizzlies. So when I see log-jams that have stopped to see Elk or Bison grazing by the side of the road, I try to get around them as quickly as possible because I am focused on Wolves and Grizzlies. (Although, I'll stop for Moose). But, occasionally a photo op is too good to pass up, even Elk in Yellowstone. I have a White Tailed Deer like that, and I have this wonderful Bull Elk lying amongst the wildflowers. I guess it warrants a "5" after all. 

Elk

Shimmering Elk

Still more "5" Star Elk Photos. This one I found off the beaten path in minus eleven degree temperature (Fahrenheit). I took several wonderful photos which made it difficult to choose which was "the best." I like this one because you can see the Elk's breath in the cold.  Often I like a "muted" or "blurred" background so that the focus is the animal. However, in this case the young fir trees in the background provide an important clue as to the Elk's environment. I do like this photo!

Elk

Wells Grey Elk

Continuing with my "5" Star Photos in general and Elk in particular we come to one of my first Bull Elk photos which I took back in 1990. It was in Wells Grey Provincial Park in British Columbia. I was using film and took a whole roll before he ran away. This was the only photo out of the 36 where there wasn't a tree branch in the way. But, that's all you need  -- just one. And it was a beauty, tongue and all.

Bull Elk

Crossing Paths

Sometimes you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Such is the case with two photos of animals which normally don't get along and aren't seen together.

First up, Bighorn Sheep and Elk. Now this isn't a great photo. But, I honestly don't know how I could have captured these two herds which were on the side of Clemon Mountain (25 miles northeast of Yakima, Washington along the Naches River).  They were at least 400 yards away from me. But if I was any closer I would not have be able to get both herds in the photo

Bighorn Sheep and Elk Herds

In the following photo a fully grown male Grizzly Bear,weighing probably 1000 pounds or more was feasting on a buffalo. The Gray Wolf was patiently sitting about 75 yards away. As soon as the Grizzly Bear stopped eating and started walking away, the Wolf got up and started walking toward the buffalo. It provided me the opportunity for the perfect photo, Bear and Wolf together.

Gray Wolf and Grizzly Bear

Bumping Heads

Occasionally, like the "civilized" world I suppose, wild animals fight. They fight to establish dominance, territory, or the love of a female. As in these photos, though, it is usually done with little harm to the other. The photo of Bighorn Rams fighting was one of my first photos with an early model APS camera (1995 I believe). The format eventually died, as well it should have given the quality of my photo. The wild horses fighting was quite a thrill. I had driven 100 miles on a Canadian dirt road looking for them. Six hours into the trip I found them. 

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Rams: Cascades, Washington

American Bison: Western Montana

Elk: North Central Colorado

Wild Horses: Central Alberta, Canada

Pronghorn: Northwestern Colorado

A couple more babies

Most wild animal mothers keep their young as far from civilization and danger as possible. In some cases, though they realize it's hardly necessary. In fact, quite the opposite. This Elk figured the safest place for her fawn was in the middle of the little town of Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park.  

Elk and Fawn

In most cases, however, mothers must rely on mother nature who has given the young some advantage. In the case of Pronghorn for example it is eyesight and speed. Young fawns learn to run almost at birth. They can detect movement from 4 miles away. And, Pronghorn can reach speeds of up to 70 miles an hour. They are the fastest land animal in North America. --- Although not faster than a speeding bullet. Pronghorn once roamed the west -- and in huge numbers. Now, their distribution is essentially Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. While their numbers are way down, there are reliable "pockets of opportunity" to view them. Western Wyoming is the exception. If you drive on US 191 through Western Wyoming you can't help but see pronghorn every couple of miles feeding on ranch lands.

Pronghorn Fawn

Timing is Everything

For a wildlife photographer, being in the right place at precisely the right time is essential. I like to plan to be where I think I have a good chance of finding something at the moment the light comes up. This sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I remember wanting to be at Cameron Pass in the Colorado Rockies at 6:00 am one early September morning. When I arrived there was a Moose family eating among the willow bushes. The Moose weren't frightened by me so continued to stay there eating for a couple of hours, by which time the light was good enough for some really great photos.

On the other hand, the day I left Flagstaff -- also the day I got sick -- I wanted to be on a very specific back road in the Coconino Forest on the San Francisco Peaks at first light. There I found a small group of five Elk eating in an open field (first photo). The light wasn't quite good enough, but unlike the Moose, they immediately started running. I saw some Bull Elk another 100 yards away but they too started running before the light was good. (second photo). It really takes an hour after first light to get enough light through the trees for a forest shot. So, when I came across a couple more Bull Elk, even though I was much closer, I still didn't have enough light for a great photo. Even by mid-morning, the light underneath thousands of Ponderosa Pines doesn't make for easy photography. The Pronghorn was about the best I could hope for as he crossed the road in front of me. Even though I didn't get great photos, seeing the forest alive with wildlife is also a treat and very special.

From there, I took a quick -- well, it's not all that quick -- drive up Mount Elden to see if I could find a Bear. No Bear to be photographed this time, but I got my best photo of the day: a Wildflower no less. 

Elk - mostly cows

Elk - all bulls

Bull Elk

Pronghorn Male

Just a Wildflower

Mothers with Babies (or sometimes dads): Elk

Female elk have a short estrus cycle of only a day or two, and matings usually involve a dozen or more attempts. By the autumn of their second year, females can produce one and, very rarely, two offspring, although reproduction is most common when cows weigh at least 440 pounds (200 kilograms).  The gestation period is 240 to 262 days and the offspring weigh between 33 and 35 lb. When the females are near to giving birth, they tend to isolate themselves from the main herd, and will remain isolated until the calf is large enough to escape predators. Calves are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and they lose their spots by the end of summer. After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd, and are fully weaned at two months of age. Elk calves are as large as an adult deer by the time they are six months old. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost a year, leaving about the time that the next season's offspring are produced. The gestation period is the same for all subspecies.

Elk live 10 to 13 years in the wild. In some subspecies that suffer less predation, they may live an average of 15 years in the wild.

Female Elk with Calf

HOOFED MAMMALS: Elk Stories-VII

Today it is "Elk in Numbers." The first photo is from the Oak Creek Wildlife Area on the East side of the Cascade Mountains near Naches. Each winter Washington State Fish and Wildlife put out food for Bighorn Sheep near Clemens Mountain, and for Elk in Oak Creek Canyon on the way to White Pass. I have already covered the Bighorns, so today it is Elk.  The Elk arrive early afternoon -- I think feeding is around 1:30. They get as many as 1500 Elk, so it can be quite a spectacle. I had some close ups but can't seem to find them. The one photo I have is from about 1993 and I recall is when the Elk began heading back up the mountain.

The last two photo were taken around Kendrick Park in the San Francisco Peaks of Northern Arizona (obviously at different times of the year). You can see from the first photo the Elk were very cautious of me. 

In this last photo the Elk started running as soon as they saw me. I have mentioned this before, there is a lot of hunting in Arizona, so the Elk are very difficult to approach here.

HOOFED MAMMALS: Elk Stories-IV

As you have probably guessed I like wildlife "portraits"; i.e. photographs where a animal is looking directly at you, and especially where you can see the iris/pupil. In most of those cases I like to have the background "out of focus" or blurred so the animal stands out more. However, that doesn't mean I will pass up an opportunity when the background itself is interesting. For instance, I showed you Moose swimming a week or so ago. Here are some "Elk in Water" photos. The first is Elk crossing the Yellowstone River just past the North Entrance from Gardiner, Montana:

This next photo was taken somewhere in Central Oregon on my way to Mahleur National Wildlife Refuge.

This last one was an Elk swimming across a lake in British Columbia. It was much like the Moose swimming photo. I saw the Elk on the other side of the lake. She then jumped in the water and started swimming. I can't remember which lake though. Again, it was a lake I was passing by.

Rocky Mountain National Park: Part II

Once the Big Show seemed to be over, I continued into the park seeing another Moose (cow) running from one willow bush to another:

As I started up the road getting near the 10,000 foot mark it started raining pretty hard. So, I decided to head back to Granby to the motel and sort through, delete photos, and charge the batteries. On the way back saw a small herd of Elk in the woods. There were a couple of fawns, but it was raining hard and dark, and with trees in the way just not a good photo to be found.

I went back out early the next morning and found a Moose with her Calf. She let me get pretty close (walking through very wet brush). But, there they were:

Also found a nice large herd of Elk down by the river. Here is one of those shots:

Found another Female Moose deep into the willows, so left her alone. Then found a Bull and Cow in an area (you must hike to) where I had seen Moose before. It was raining again. I found myself unable to get to an angle close enough for a good photo. Lots of water knee deep.  I did take photos, some of which turned out okay. But, nothing really great. They lay down under cover, and I checked back at several intervals for an hour and a half but they hadn't budged.  The best photo was this one:

The female is actually underneath the large fir tree; the male behind the small fir in the middle. Can't see them in the photo. But, actually, I like the photo without the Moose to distract.

All in all a very good -- if not wet couple of days.

Jumpers

Wildlife "action photos" are a little more challenging than sports photos -- not that sports photos are easy either. With wildlife -- as with sports -- the action often comes without warning and is quickly over. However with wildlife, you more often don't get a chance to position yourself for the best angle and frequently the action is away from you. I have countless photos of animal's "backsides" whose only value is to remind me of what I saw. In the three photos below, I had an idea that the animals would jump a fence. But even though I was ready with camera in hand, it was challenging to get the photo I wanted: The first, Mule Deer in Southcentral Oregon (the best of the three):

The next one, a female Moose in Northwestern Colorado (Also an example of how often a branch is in the way, either covering the animals face -- or changing the focus point. I would have also liked to have centered the moose a little better in the photo to be able to see the ground he was jumping from):

And, the last one, a female Elk in Northern Arizona (I was far away and it was very early morning so the lighting wasn't great. The result was loss of detail in the photo):

Tomorrow "running."

Types of Wildlife Photos

There are two kinds of wildlife photographers: Those that try to capture wildlife in their natural environment doing what's natural, as if the photographer wasn't there. Then there are those that try to capture wildlife looking directly at them because they are, in fact, there. I am the latter - usually. Two reasons for this. First, when someone looks at one of my photos they see a wild animal looking directly at them. It puts the viewer in the same place I was. Secondly, the first type can too easily be captured with remote control cameras which seems to lack a certain sense of authenticity, or at least a sense of actually being there. However, I won't pass up an opportunity. So, I do have a few of the first kind as well. An example is this Bobcat hunting. He either didn't know -- or didn't care that I was watching:

Or a young female Elk swimming across a river:

Or a Coyote yipping in the morning mist:

Tomorrow, the jumpers.

Elk, Bison, Bear in Wildflowers

It would seem that wild animals love wildflowers as much  -- maybe more -- than we do. The top photo is a large bull elk who was enjoying everything about them. The photo was taken in Yellowstone, just south of Canyon Village. The middle photo of the bison stripping the wildflowers from their stalk was taken in Hayden Valley. The bottom photo of the young black bear was taken just north of Tower Fall.  When I go to Yellowstone I spend most of my time in the east part of the park. The west side has more geysers -- the east side more wildlife. The mountainous area between Tower-Roosevelt and Canyon Village is particularly productive for bear and bighorn sheep. Lamar Valley which is east of Tower Roosevelt is great for bison, pronghorn, and wolves. And the area between Canyon Village and Fishing bridge (Hayden Valley along the Yellowstone River) is great for bison, grizzly bears, wolves, and waterbirds like white pelicans. I have come across moose in areas just north and south of Tower Roosevelt. What time I do spend on the west side of the park is all between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris where I have also found moose and grizzly bears. But south of Norris through Old Faithful to West Thumb I try to avoid. It's not that the geysers aren't worth visiting. I have done that, though. And, I have one or two of the 675 billion photos that have been taken of Old Faithful over the years. It's probably a matter of what interests you the most. For me, it is wildlife.

First Wildlife Photo Trip

On my first "photo only" trip I went to Wells Gray in British Columbia, where I came across this elk. Judging from the size of his antlers, it was probably late June (I didn't keep good records the first couple of years and it was before digital). Male elk start growing their antlers in the March/April timeframe. They grow very rapidly. In general age determines how big they get. As they grow the antlers are covered in "velvet." During this time male elk must be careful not to cut or bruise the velvet. That makes male elk a little easier to get close to and a little easier to photograph,  -- that's if you can find them, of course. The challenge for the wildlife photographer is to get a "open shot." This guy was deep in the woods. I probably took two rolls of film to get this photo. But, I really didn't know what I had until I got home and developed the film. What made this photo even more special, was the tongue. Although it was one of my first wildlife photos, it is still one of my favorite elk photos today.

jousting elk

Here we have two bull elk "jousting"; a ceremonial activity during the "rut." I watched as these two elk slowly approached each other, locked antlers, turned one way, then the other, again, and again, then released and slowly backed off. It wasn't violent as is the case with the bighorn sheep rams. Once finished the elk went back to eating as if nothing else had happened. Again, you can see how the neck is swollen. While I have seen "jousting" before, it is an amazing act of nature I never tire of.