Go West Old Boy

4:55 am: Got on the road headed west to Pennsylvania’s elk range, picking up a cup of coffee and a cinnamon raisin bagel on the way. Two hours later, going through a small village that had once been an important railroad junction, I had to wait while a bull elk crossed the road. He headed for the edge of town where he posed for some photos –

A mile further on another bull grazed along the edge of the road. He raised his head as the car slowed to a stop –

The morning’s light was poor for photos, but some of us can’t resist the temptation to press the shutter – thank goodness for photo editing software. Further on down the road I stopped at a field that’s maintained as a food plot specifically for elk. It’s a field I’ve stopped at many times but where I’ve never seen an elk. But this time – Wow – there was an elk in the field, a young bull but only that young bull –

Onward to one of my favorite areas to see elk. Parked the car, headed up the hill and walked about a mile back into an area that’s remote from tourists and cell phone photographers. Over the hill and down into the valley beyond as a bull elk bugled in the distance. Around the next hill a field came into view and there they were, a small band of elk. To the naked eye two antlered bulls were visible along with a number of other elk. It was one of these bulls that was sounding off with a challenge to any other bulls in the area, including the other bull in the field.

                 Make sure your audio is turned on

Both bulls had their antlers festooned with grass that they’d raked up –

The larger, more dominant bull pursued the other bull until the later went up and over the hill and the dominant bull returned to his harem. He chased a couple of strays back into the band – to my surprise his harem wasn’t a group of cows, it consisted of five 1½ year old spike bulls –

The bull resumed bugling, responding to bugles from another elk that was out of sight –

So I headed toward the other bugling elk. After a while the unseen bull came into view on the top of a hill covered in goldenrod –

He was busy eating and didn't bugle again while I watched. That was the last elk of the day, but I’ll go back.