Thank you for your patience while we retrieve your images.
Modified 8-Feb-20
Created 11-Nov-15
50 photos

Rocky Mountain National Park Elk
- Tundra near the Alpine Visitor Center
- West Horseshoe Park
- Moraine Park

These photographs were taken over a 3-day period in September during the Elk rut. The bulls are impressive; they can weigh 800+ pounds. Their massive antlers weigh about 40 pounds. Elk sense of smell and hearing are excellent. Maintaining a safe distance while photographing them is imperative; you do not want to find yourself in a situation where a bull may suddenly charge to defend his territory or his herd of cows and their calves; with a top speed of about 35 mph, you are not going to out run them!

Bull Elk bugling is a particularly eerie sound to experience. It typically signals that this is his domain. Potential intruders, including photographers for that matter, were duly warned.

At one point while photographing a large bull in West Horseshoe Park, he apparently decided that his harem of approximately 15 cows and 2 calves were wandering a bit too close to the photographers and other park visitors lining the roadside. It was somewhat unnerving to experience just how agile 800+ pounds of muscle and antlers could charge directly towards us for a few hundred feet until, perhaps only 100 feet away from us, the bull quickly and expertly herded the cows and calves into a sharp U-turn to keep them well away from wildlife enthusiasts and photographers lining the road .

A bull in Moraine Park (see photos) decided that sparring was the way to settle a dispute with a bull that was apparently perceived as challenging the rights to his territory and/or his harem.

For additional information about elk and the rut:
http://rockymountainnationalpark.com/things-do/wildlife-watching/elk
http://www.nps.gov/romo/elk_bugles.htm

http://www.rmef.org/ElkFacts.aspx

Photography: Stephen Talabac
Post Processing: Diana Talabac

Click on the first thumbnail to view larger images
© 2015 Stephen & Diana Talabac. All Rights Reserved.
Elk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllifeElk, RMPN, "Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull, "Horseshoe Park", "West Horseshoe Park", Colorado, antlers, autumn, fall, calf, cow, wildllife

Categories & Keywords
Category:Animals
Subcategory:Wildlife
Subcategory Detail:
Keywords:Colorado, Elk, Horseshoe, Park, RMPN, Rocky Mountain National Park, rut, bull,, West Horseshoe Park, antlers, autumn, calf, cow, fall, wildllife