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Elk (Wapiti)

Cervus canadensis

Published on Project Noah
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40.3668, -105.6

Field Notes

Description:

Elk belong to the deer family. Large bulls may weigh 800 lbs and have large antlers, which are shed annually. Cows are smaller and are without antlers. Both sexes are tawny brown with darker necks and legs and tan rumps.

Habitat:

Forested edges, grasslands (originally), and mountain forests.

Notes:

My wife and I found this bull in a clearing next to the road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The elk here are highly habituated to people; this is one of the best places to photograph elk that I've found.

Reference Links:

Elk

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)
Gordon Dietzman
The lighting was very nice this early morning. The fresh snow helped reflect light onto this very nice bull, who was nice enough to hang around for quite a while giving me time to line up the shots I wanted.
Gordon Dietzman
I was on vacation for 11 days and after getting back have been involved in catching up. I've still got a couple of hard days ahead, but things should even out a bit this next week.
Gordon Dietzman
Thanks Carol. I got back from a vacation about a week ago and am just now getting around to processing some photos. It was a good trip as I traveled from home, here in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area of Minnesota, to Colorado and then north through Wyoming into South Dakota before coming back to the Twin Cities. Locations include Rocky Mountain National Park, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park and the Badlands National Park. Great trip; had lots of fun. Will be putting up more spottings as I have time available.

Tags

Photographed
PublishedNovember 10, 2011

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