This is the third of my three galleries of elk pictures, you may also enjoy the first and second galleries. These pictures were taken in 2008 in or near the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park.
President Roosevelt (Franklin, not Theodore) granted National Park status in 1938 after visiting the area, the status it has retained to the current day, protecting not only the elk that bear the Roosevelt name but also the many plants and animals that are unique to the Olympic Peninsula. You can find more info about the park at the official park site and in a PDF on the history of its park status.
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Velvet
Since it was late September, I was surprised to see the antlers of these two young males still covered in velvet, the skin and blood vessels that supply nutrients to the antlers as the grow anew each year (the fine hairs give rise to the velvet name). Both were part of the same elk herd as several older bulls.
The dominant bull was the oldest with a full rack of antlers on his head, I was also surprised to see him let the younger males in the herd, mixing in with the females of his harem. I did see a couple of older bulls half-heartedly sparring elsewhere in the rainforest, but all of the males here were getting along just fine. I love the bugling call of the bulls during the rut so I was sorry I only heard the calls once in Mount Rainier and not at all in the Olympics. The rut would have been winding down this time of year in Wyoming, but I must have missed the prime time for Washington. |
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Sometimes You Have To Reach For The Tastiest Treats
An elk bull strains to reach foliage on the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rainforest.
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