I consider it a privilege to have been part of this amazing scene high in the Colorado Rockies as a big bull elk managed his herd in view of my camera. Pictures don’t quite do the scene justice as there was so much more for the five senses to capture. The elk were
talking among each other and moving around as the big bull bellowed out his commands. Occasionally the cows would temporarily escape the attention of the alpha and try to separate from the herd. But it was never long before the supreme leader would discover the escape attempt and run to head off the insurrection.
At one point we heard the call of another bull over the ridge and out of our sight. The big bull also heard and went off to investigate, not about to let another male lure his harem away. He went out of sight for a while before returning. Later on we meandered over the ridge ourselves to see if another herd might be worth photographing but it was just one bull, resting in the meadow while
making sure to bugle out his availability to any stray cows. He seemed in no mood for a fight with the alpha, not even bothering to stand and make a challenge. Perhaps an epic battle had already been decided earlier in the elk rut season.
I did shoot this short video for my Youtube Channel with the hope that I could capture the essence of this evening with a little sound to go with it. In the video the bull is circling around from the south to keep his harem from scattering. I was fortunate to capture the bugling of the bull as he went about his business! Development of my channel is still in it’s infancy as I get more practice with a medium that I have neglected up until recently, but please, feel free to subscribe if you would like to be notified as more footage is added.
Also these images and more are available on my website for purchase as wall art on glossy metal or acrylic sheets, stretched canvas and traditional framing and matting. Tons of other cool gifts and gadgets are also available with my Rocky Mountain art so feel free to click and explore!
