The American Elk, or Wapiti in the Shawnee language, meaning "white rump", are native to Pennsylvania but the elk currently inhabiting portions of Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and Potter counties, are not. By 1877, the native elk herd was devastated by overhunting. Experts believe that few to none survived. Between 1913 and 1926, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) repopulated the elk by transporting Rocky Mountain elk to Pennsylvania.
Today, the elk herd is about 1000 large and thousands of people travel to a little town in Elk County called Benezette to view elk. Although the area around Benezette is quite populated with elk, it contains only a small portion of the complete herd. There are several food plots in the Benezette area maintained by the PGC. That makes elk viewing a premium there.
Any professional or amateur wildlife photographer will agree, the most pleasing photos of elk are made in the wild settings, which is why I spend a lot of time off the beaten path, away from the crowds of elk watchers. Many of my earlier elk photos were made in the food plots because they were easily accessible and I didn't know where else to go safely and legally. Since then, I've befriended many other people with the same interest that unselfishly gave me tips.
The early mornings in the mountains of the Pennsylvania Wilds are usually foggy. Traveling into the hills doesn't guarantee you'll see an elk. During the rut, you will hear them. The photo below shows a bull elk bugling in the fog.
Below, is a short video clip of this bull grooming himself. I was quite far away from him and didn't get good sound but if you listen carefully close to the end, you will hear him bugle and get a response from a bull in the distance.
In previous posts, I described the velvet that covers the antlers during the summer as they grow. When the velvet dries up and shreds, bulls begin to aggressively rub their antlers on shrubs and trees, to help peel off the drying velvet. This activity is quite noisy and is believed to attract the attention of other elk. It is also believed that the broken branches, intertwined in the bull’s antlers, make them appear larger to their rivals and impressive to potential mates. Juices from the plants stain the antlers giving them their characteristic dark brown color.
You can see the color variations of the antlers in the photo below.
Below is a video clip of the bull in the photo above rubbing the bush. Interestingly, I noticed the bulls will lick the thicker branches after rubbing them. They must like the taste of the sweet sap seeping from the shredded limbs.
Perhaps it is a show of strength because after shredding the bush, he exited with a bugle.
This is the same bull surveying the valley. No other elk were in sight.
Bugling is a common occurrence during the rut.
A group of us were watching a meadow one evening as the sun began to slip behind the mountains. Bull elk were bugling in the valley opposite the meadow. When these cow and calves came racing up the hill, we knew a bull or two would follow.
Breathing heavily from the run in the warm, summer sun, the elk calves in the middle look like they are smiling for a photo.
Just as we expected, the bulls followed.
Names have been derived to describe bulls based on the number of tines on their antlers. An elk with a total of 12 antler points (6x6) is called a ''royal" bull; one with 14 points (7X7) is an "imperial" and one with 16 points (8X8) is a "monarch". There are probably slightly different definitions by various groups of people but these were the most consistent descriptions I found. If I follow these rules, the charging bull in the photo below is an imperial bull. I don't know what they call a 7X6 or an 8X7 so if you have a better understanding of these nicknames, please respond in the comment section.
After charging the hill, he stands poised for confrontation.
There was a fight between two bulls, while another watched, that evening. I photographed it but they were slightly over the knoll and the tall grasses threw off camera focus so I don't have photos to share.
I made several trips to Elk Country during the rut and while it is not completely over, it has slowed down a lot. I called this blog post "Part 1" because I didn't want to jam too many photos into one post. Check back soon for "Part 2".
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Until next time,
Dan