My brother took this photo of a bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado. Isn’t this big guy a beauty? (My brother’s not bad either, ladies, but he’s happily married!)
Here’s the elk…
Colorado bull elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park (copyright Eric Schickler)
Here’s my brother…
Laura's brother, Eric Schickler, Denver Colorado professional outdoors photographer
Did you know Colorado has more elk than any other state?
Did you know we have more than 250,000 elk running around out here in Colorado? In fact, state wildlife officials just recently discovered a northwest Colorado herd two to three times larger than originally believed – to the tune of 23,000-45,000 animals (previously estimated at 11,000 to 15,000)
That’s a whole lotta elk! And they’re not just skipping along the sagebrush up near Craig or down by Stewart Peak either. They trot across golf courses, poke their noses into open cabin windows and hang out on the roadside to give Estes Park visitors something to look at.
Listen to a bull elk bugle
And if you’ve never heard an elk bugle, it’s really something. Those hormones start raging and the big fellas forget everything except the cows (female elk) as they throw their heads back and shriek out this high-pitched, piercing nasal squeal.
They’re pretty impressive animals standing alone, but in herds of hundreds they’re magnificent! A few years ago, we were near Craig, Colorado on that hunting season’s opening day just before sunrise. It was bitterly cold, making the snow squeak and the air feel like needles on your cheek. Hills blocked the moon behind us but left just enough light to catch sight of one bull standing broadside in the road. I yelled, “Watch out. There’s a million of ‘em” as hundreds of elk thundered around us with hooves churning up the snow and the sage. It looked like twenty John Deere tractors just went by!
It’s one of those rare experiences that makes life worth living – seeing so many beautiful animals in the wild, running and leaping around you, then crashing through frozen fields with moonlight marking their path.
And I didn’t have a camera!
So, you’re stuck with your own imagination, Eric’s photo and the sounds of the elusive Wapiti! You can also visit the site of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Tomorrow we’re heading up to Estes Park. Tonight I’ll be practicing my bugle!
Laura Benjamin, writing from 6711 ft. above sea level
