Bull Elk #2
by Robert Bales
Title
Bull Elk #2
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
While driving in Yellowstone National Park we found this bull elk laying down and resting.
Elk are also called wapiti, a Native American word that means "light-colored deer." Elk are related to deer but are much larger than most of their relatives. A bull (male) elk's antlers may reach 4 feet (1.2 meters) above its head, so that the animal towers 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall.
Bull elk lose their antlers each March, but they begin to grow them back in May in preparation for the late-summer breeding season.
Yellowstone provides summer range for an estimated 10,000�20,000 elk (Cervus elaphus) from 6�7 herds, most of which winter at lower elevations outside the park. These herds provide visitor enjoyment as well as revenue to local economies through hunting outside the park. As Yellowstone�s most abundant ungulate, elk comprise approximately 90% of winter wolf kills and are an important food for bears, mountain lions, and at least 12 scavenger species, including bald eagles and coyotes. Competition with elk can influence the diet, habitat selection, and demography of bighorn sheep, bison, moose, mule deer, and pronghorn. Elk browsing and nitrogen deposition can affect vegetative production, soil fertility, and plant diversity. Thus, changes in elk abundance over space and time can alter plant and animal communities in Yellowstone
Uploaded
June 5th, 2015
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Comments (23)
Morris Finkelstein
Gorgeous close up photograph of a bull Elk resting in Yellowstone with great POV, pose, clarity, and composition, Robert! F/L/Voted
Lydia Holly
A fantastic find and capture of this beautiful creature Robert! I hope one day to have a trophy like this! Great Job! l/f/tw
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks Lydia for the wonderful comment and the LFTw! Hope you fill your dream someday!
Mary Machare
However did you get this close? Marvelous capture, Robert!! LF Tw
Robert Bales replied:
It was only about 100 feet from the road and I used a 400mm lens. Thanks Mary for the comments and the LFTw!!
Karen Cook
What a wonderful nature photo. Great capture of this magnificent creature. I love the fact that in the background I can see the rack of antlers of another elk.Bravo Robert, this is outstanding.
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks so much for looking closely at the photo and the nice review. I think most people would not see the other Elk.