The Elk during the Rut

The best time to view the elk is late afternoon to about dusk. During the rut the cows and the bullls come down from the high country to breed; they can be seen in the meadows. This bull is guarding his "harem". Only the largest bulls have harems. Younger bulls may try to challenge him and take over the harem, so he has to keep a watchful eye.
 

Another bull with his harem. We were told that the typical harem was about 25-30 females.
 

This bull is "bugling", which is how they warn other bulls to stay away. The bugle is a high-pitched soprano-like sound, which is strange to hear coming from a 750 pound animal.

This bull is a "wannabe". He is still too small to challenge the big bulls. In another year or two he should be large enough to get his own harem and mate with the female elk.
 

The young bulls can often be seen on the fringes of the harem and will occasionally challenge the big bull. The big bull will go after them, and the young bulls usually run off. In this case a young bull was more daring, or foolhardy, and got into a scuffle with the big bull (on the right). The young bull quickly conceded and left the area. We were told that actual fighting between the bull elk is rare.
 

It was not necessary to go into the national park to see the elk. This bull, with his harem, wandered into the campground where we were staying.
 

You could even see elk in town. These females are along side the road by the Safeway. The nine-hole golf course was closed to golfing; it had been taken over by elk.