Here they are fed hay to replace their lower winter range, which has been replaced by human activity. This weekend I will be taking 24 international students to Hardware Ranch for a sleigh ride among the wintering pasturing elk. A revealing and enduring read I highly recommend. They were transfixed as was I.Ī favorite book is Wapiti Wilderness, coauthored by Olaus and wife Margaret Murie, capturing their lives in the Yellowstone and Teton wilderness tracking elk herds over many years, often with their young children. Soon after came the hauntingly beautiful sound sliding down the slope above, bugling of bull elk. It was after dark at the base of Teewinot. Another came last fall when I had a large group of USU international students with me. I moved slowly for safety, and not to startle the animals. I soon found myself surrounded by an elk herd. Once on the ridge, large, gray forms emerged. It was unusually warm so decided to take a moonlit stroll.
#PICTURES ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FULL#
My spiritual encounter came on a full moon vernal evening on a ridge in Birch Canyon near Smithfield. With this medicine comes instant knowing and messages from Spirit with great clarity.” Animal Spirit Medicine Elk by Beverly Two Feathers Their antlers connect to the medicine of lightening, and channel that energy to earth. “ Elk Medicine is a powerful totem animal of stamina, strength, sensual passion, nobility, pride, respect, and survival. Some won’t make it providing a feast for waiting predators and scavengers come spring.Įlk are a sacred animal for many Native Americans. Prime bulls exhaust themselves, during the rut, and face the harsh winter months in a depleted condition. Cows generally outlive the bulls by several years. If you’ve had the pleasure of holding a large set of elk antlers, you will appreciate the physiology that allows this amount of annual growth to produce such weapons and status symbols. Bulls will often separate to avoid this embarrassing situation. On one occasion, we were sleeping under the stars on a warm fall evening, awakened by a minor earth quake as a herd ran through us, a wakeup call I’ll never forget!Ī matriarchal society, the cow elk rules the herd other than during the fall rut. Since that time, I’ve led countless groups of students and others to view elk during the rut in Grand Teton National Park. What magnificent beings they were, dwarfing the whitetail deer I had grown up with in Michigan. I was nearly trampled by a large bull and herd of cows that leaped over me as I cowered behind large boulders.
My introductory encounter with Rocky Mountain elk came during my first deer hunt in Utah on the east side of Mt. No one can deny its majesty and uncanny intelligence while being hunted, and the spine tingling bugle released in fall mountain splendor.
#PICTURES ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK DOWNLOAD#
Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 3:26 | Recorded on January 16, 2023Ĭourtesy US FWS, Ryan Hagerty, PhotographerĬourtesy US FWS, Lori Iverson, PhotographerĬourtesy US FWS, Kari Cieszkiewicz, PhotographerThe Rocky Mountain elk is Utah’s state mammal for good reason.
0 kommentar(er)
