Rocky Mountain National Park Elk

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK ELK by PRISCILLA BURGERS... more

by Priscilla Burgers

Title

Rocky Mountain National Park Elk

Artist

Priscilla Burgers

Medium

Photograph - Photography - Digital Paiting - Fotopainting

Description

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK ELK by PRISCILLA BURGERS

This elk is just one of many bull elk that congregate in several areas of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado to fight for their harems during the annual fall rut. It is the time of year that one can listen to the majestic bull elk bugle in the high country. It is a sound like no other.

During the late summer, most of the bulls segregate from the cows in bachelor groups. They feed in the morning and evening when the temperatures are cool and then retreat to the timber to rest in the shade. Their antlers have grown back after shedding them in April and May and are still covered in velvet. The shortening of daylight triggers the elk's biological clock and the rut begins. As the light decreases in the fall, glands are stimulated (by the amount of daylight which comes in through the eyes) and these glands release hormones. The bulls' antler growth stops, the velvet dries up, their necks swell, and their testicles fill up with semen. In the cows, this begins the oestrous cycle.

When the bulls first shed their velvet, their antlers are white. During the rut the antlers darken or become stained from dirt, mud, bark, sap, and blood, turning them to various shades of browns to almost black. The bulls become less and less social with their summer companions. They begin to seek out the cows and form their harems. Only the largest and strongest of the bulls become herd bulls and will be able to take and hold a herd of cows. This is nature's way of insuring that only the best bulls do the breeding. Their genes can now be passed on for future generations of elk.

During the rut, a bull's neck and hump may swell to twice it's normal size. The hair on the mane grows darker and longer, and the antlers become dark with white tips. All these features help the bulls to look more massive than they already are. They become very aggressive with outstretched neck, raised hackles, deep bugle, and violently shaking antlers. This shows them as being an overwhelming opponent and not to be messed with.

These bulls seek out the cows, which if not already taken by a larger bull, will be claimed by them. The bulls chase off any smaller bulls with just their massive size and aggressiveness, usually without having to fight. As the height of the rut passes, the herd bulls wander off and once again form bachelor groups. By the end of the rut, bulls lose around 100 pounds and will need to feed heavily to replace the lost stores of fat needed for the upcoming winter months.

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Uploaded

September 16th, 2015