I filmed and photographed a lot of elk during my recent two week trip
to Pennsylvania Elk Country. There is certainly no shortage of bulls,
but with few exceptions the bulls seen on Winslow Hill this fall are
young animals that have not yet reached their full potential or older
bulls that do
not have the genetic make-up to grow a large rack.
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| Winslow Hill Bulls: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 70-20mm f2.8 IS L@105mm--ISO 1000-1/200 sec. F 4.0 |
The bull on the right is the famous 2D and yes I did
remove the collar with Photoshop to preserve the wild look of the
scene. He is one of the few elk, and perhaps the only bull, on Winslow
Hill that still has the bright yellow collar and number. The PGC has
shifted to a more esthetically pleasing brown collar as the yellow
collars made the animals stand out like a sore thumb in elk season. I
hope that in time the collars will be eliminated entirely and replaced
by an implanted chip or something like it. At any rate the new ones are
much less objectionable than the old and are worlds ahead of the
ridiculous collars used on the whitetail deer in Shenandoah National
Park.
2D is the largest he has ever been, but it seems
that he is one of those elk that will never be a real contender.
Although it is possible that he will be a late bloomer so as to speak
and suddenly skyrocket in size, I do not expect this to happen. I
first photographed him about 2008 and he is not a great deal larger
now. One need only see a mature bull up close to fully realize the
difference between them and the second tier bulls.
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| Mature Herd Bull: 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L --ISO 200-1/800 sec. F 2.8 |
The bull above is the only mature herd bull that I
saw on Winslow Hill this fall. He is a bit smaller than last year. It
was truly a privileged to document him during the rut this year. There
were other bulls with wide, high antlers, but they were young bulls
with years of development ahead of them if they live, while this bull
has the thick heavy antlers typical of a bull at or past his prime.The
photo below was taken when he lunged at a cow which he was following.
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| Herd Bull Lunges at Cow: 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L+ 1.4x extender II --ISO 200-1/250 sec. F 5.0 |
While the bulls are the center of attention, it is worthwhile to pay attention to what the other elk are doing as well.
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| Elk Herd on Winslow Hill: 5D MK III-Canon 24-105mm f24 IS @85mm-ISO 200-1/200 sec. F 8.0 |
Some
have expressed amazement that they are seeing calves still nursing from
the cows. This is not extremely common at this time of year, but
neither is it rare and I get to film this on occasion. I even saw a
calf nursing on President's Day weekend one year, and I have seen a cow
nursing its' calf from the previous year, during the rut in Septermber..
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| Calf Nursing-Sept. 25, 2013: 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L+1/4 extemder--ISO 400-1/1000 sec. F 4.5 |
Whitetail fawns are still nursing at times also, but
the does ordinarily do not stand long for them and in some cases will
not stand at all but shy away from the fawn as it approaches.
Whatever
the species, the outdoors is a place that never ceases to amaze and
there is no better way to appreciate the beauty of nature than to be
afield with a camera.
Originally Published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
