![]() Elk are most active in the early mornings and late afternoons. Planning for a successful photo shoot during the elk rut is pretty straightforward but here are some tips to improve your chances of capturing your own spittle photo.ġ. Bull elk, especially the younger bulls that are not quite mature enough to participate in the mating, will spar almost anywhere during the rut season, like these two in Lake Estes.(Dawn Wilson Photography) ![]() Bulls will collect cows to form harems during the rut, and will fiercely defend the girls from other males. Here they will gather to find their mates - the cows choose which bull she will allow to mate with her - before moving to even lower elevations in late October or early November for the winter. Late each August, as the tundra starts to see its first coatings of frost, the elk herds start to move out of the high country and back down into the valleys and meadows. Elk are one of those species that put on quite the show during the rut. It only happens once a year for these mammals and, depending on the species, can be quite animated and dramatic. ![]() Rut is a term that describes a mating season, particularly for ruminant mammals, like deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose and elk. (Some blocks of time during the peak of the elk rut in September were sold out within minutes of going on sale, and the recent release of October dates sold out just as quickly for the first week of October.) 1 for the September timeframe, it looks like the crowds will be present yet again this year. Many nature lovers with shutter-finger syndrome (a non-fatal obsessive need to press that camera shutter button at the sight of birds, megafauna and/or small mammals) arrive in the valleys around Estes Park in the fall to witness this unique behavior of the animal kingdom.īased on how quickly the early morning timed-entry reservations for the Bear Lake Corridor in Rocky Mountain National Park sold out on Aug. Rut season has arrived and that means lots of photos with steamy breath, lip curls, rattling antlers, sparring matches, powerful bugles with spittle projecting from a bull’s mouth, frosted antlers, snow-covered meadows full of elk and many other photo-worthy scenarios.Īnd it isn’t just local photographers that go ga-ga over photos during the elk rut season. For many local wildlife photographers, September marks one of the best times of year to be in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. ![]() This video captures elk during their fall mating ritual called the “rut.” This rite of autumn attracts thousands of visitors to Colorado each year, generating millions of dollars to the state’s economy.It is that time of year again. Because CPW does not receive general tax dollars, hunters fund conservation programs for elk and other species throughout Colorado. From these meager transplants, and through decades of conservation programs, elk populations have soared to the abundant herds for which Colorado is now famous.ĬPW, in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and other conservation groups, continues to conduct research, protect key winter range and migration corridors and improve habitat to ensure Colorado’s elk herds remain abundant for future generations. Sportsmen also called for regulated hunting seasons to protect and manage elk populations. The elk were transported and released in Idaho Springs and in the Greenhorn Mountains in Pueblo County. The elk’s dramatic demise was attributed to unregulated market-hunting.Ī century ago, Colorado Parks and Wildlife imported 350 elk from Wyoming to re-establish dwindling herds. But did you know that elk were near extinction at the turn of the century? In fact, fewer than 1,000 elk remained in Colorado during the early 1900s. After all, Colorado is home to nearly 280,000 animals - the largest elk population in North America. Living in Colorado, it’s easy to take for granted our enormous elk herds.
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