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Project Noah Nature School
Cervus Elaphus
Prime feeding time for these animals is at dusk or dawn. This shot was taken at dawn in western New Mexico. The photo depicts 2 alpha bulls, antlers locked in combat as they compete for dominance over the territory. You can't see them in this shot, but from the position we were standing we could see ~75 Elk, mostly females.
Although they sleep high in the safety of the forested hilltops, they will come down at dusk and dawn for 2-3 hours a day to graze on grassy greens.
Bull Elk bugle to attract cows and advertise their dominance to other bulls. Bull elk grunt at cows straying from the harem. In the wild, these animals maintain a social culture that is an amazing sight to see if you can stay hidden. There are always 1 or 2 females keeping sentry and they will alert the herd at the first sign of potential danger.
Spotted on Oct 15, 2011
Submitted on Nov 1, 2011
2 Comments
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Welcome to Project Noah Zack A. Khan! If this is the Rocky Mountain Elk, it would be Cervus canadensis, and not Cervus elaphus which is an Eurasian species.