Category Archive for ‘elk herd’ at Beside the Stream

Archive for the 'elk herd' Category

Elk run away

Published on May 10, 2008 in elk herd. 1 Comment

Bob and I were driving in to the first Farmer’s Market (where Peg sell worms and asparagus, Suzie has daffodils, seeds and greenhouse starts and Holly has eggs and chicken) when we saw this herd of elk right close to the road. As long as we stay in the car, the elk aren’t very interested in us.

But there are all these shrubs in the way.

Bob backs up so I can get a clearer shot, and suddenly they were paying close attention. I haven’t been so close to the elk before, since they always run away. I had been wondering if they actually bump up against each other in their tight herds, or if they always keep a few inches space.

I think there are thirteen elk in this photo, squished like sardines. They’re definitely bumping together. I get out of the car,

and the gang of elk is gone, lickety split. The adjacent farm has an elk fence, so the elk have to run down to the end of the fence

and jump the irrigation ditch to get away from me. There’s a horse fence parallel to the ditch, and the elk jump it like steeplechase champs.

Adios! Sorry for making you run away.

A big herd of elk

Published on April 10, 2008 in elk herd. 5 Comments

Bob called me and said, There’s a big herd of elk on the way in to town. I think there’s about sixty.

So I took my camera, and sure enough there’s a giant herd of elk. I parked my car on the road and climbed the fence to get closer to them… but they aren’t interested in getting closer to me.

At first, some of the elk were lying down, and others were grazing. As I approached, they started organizing themselves in relation to me–here, they all faced me. Look how tightly they bunch together. These animals don’t have much personal space.

Then they collectively decided that they didn’t want to see me at all. All of these butts in a row, with their backs to me, makes it seem as though the elk are making a statement.

Herd life.

The collective noun for elk is either a herd of elk, or a gang of elk. In the deep snow, the elk sometimes gang up and steal the hay put out for horses and cattle. The next valley over, a gang of elk pulled down a haybarn and helped themselves.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know–that’s how Lady Caroline Lamb described Lord Byron. That part I get. And when I look at this gang of elk and see how few men there are to go around, well, no wonder they’re so ornery.

Elk bulls and their harem

Published on April 4, 2008 in elk herd. 0 Comments

The elk were lounging around on the east side of the valley.

Here are three bulls, each heavy bellied and magnificent,

and here is their harem.

Elk teeth

Published on March 11, 2008 in elk herd. 2 Comments

I saw the DOT elk truck out this morning, and was reminded of a conversation I had with the crew when they were loading two elk in January. I mentioned that I was surprised to find the antlers cut off a roadkilled mule deer within two days of an accident; the DOT guy replied that they rarely pick up an elk carcass that still has its bugler teeth. He said that elk ivory is typically scavenged within hours of an accident.

Growing up in Vermont, the only ivory we heard about was from elephants, whales and walruses. In Colorado, everyone knows that each elk has two teeth that are ivory (and the rest aren’t)… at least that’s how the story goes.

The elk’s two canine teeth have been used for decoration forever. Many Indian tribes used them on dresses and shirts.

Sometimes Indians carved bone to look like elk teeth, since each elk only has two of these decorative bugler teeth (also called ivory teeth, eye teeth, tusks and whistlers).

The members of the BPOE were big fans of elk teeth; they liked them on watch fobs and cufflinks. You can buy old elk teeth in BPOE memorabilia on Ebay

and the boom in BPOE membership at the turn of the century is credited with having helped push the eastern elk to extinction. Today people still like to wear elk teeth. Here are earrings made from a pair of elk ivories, and in truth they’re kind of appealing: elk teeth are bulbous and hard, with a sort of a glow.

Hunters and jewelers claim that these elk canines are actually ivory. According to the Smithsonian Institute, they’re not. I’ll leave you with the words of Sally Sheldon, collections officer at the National Museum of Natural History.

Ivory is strictly defined as the acellular dentine structure characterizing proboscidean tusks. There is no other structure like it: the complex cone-within-cone structure is absolutely diagnostic of proboscideans, and no other mammal, let alone other vertebrate. (I looked it up for you: elephants are the only living proboscideans.)

…The term “ivory” gets used for a wide range of ivory-like or ivory-substitute
materials. It seems that any dense bone or bone-like structure that is
capable of being carved up for scrimshaw or figurines has at one time or
another been referred to as “ivory,” including hippo and suid “tusks,” any
antlers and horn cores, any compact bone sections (especially mammalian),
narwhal “horns,” ratite eggshells, hornbill casques, turtle carapace
fragments, large mollusk shells, and some very dense plant seed coat
structures. This is the context in which elk teeth get referred to as
“ivory.” Strictly speaking, they’re not.

Oh Kay.

Elk herds

Published on January 30, 2008 in elk herd. 0 Comments

If you approach a bunch of deer, they flick their ears forward, they prance a little, and then they wheel around and run away. As a rule, they maintain their distance from one another.

If you approach a gang of elk, they gather together and collectively turn their back to you.

They’ll get out of your way if they can, and if they can’t they’ll kick your butt.

Elk on the way to school

Published on January 15, 2008 in elk herd and roadkill. 1 Comment

Normally about 200 elk winter in the valley, and five years back in a particularly deep winter the wildlife biologists counted nearly 500. This winter, there are plenty: I took these pictures from the car window on the way back from dropping Sam off at high school. On the right side of the road is a herd of females.

Elk travel in such tight herds that they’re easy to tell from the horses or cattle. They stick together when they’re grazing or moving, and when the herd lies down, their rumps look like a pile of boulders. They can jump standard fences without even trying–an elk fence is 10 feet tall–and they’re big: a grown-up lady can weigh in at 500 pounds, while a studly male can be 700 pounds. (They’re officially called cows and bulls, but I’m not sure that’s entirely respectful.) I took these photos from the driver’s seat window, and then I rolled down the passenger seat window for this Mom and her yearling twins.

She told them to scoot, seeing as the car was pulled onto the shoulder.

So they did.

The elk are spending the winter in the valley near the river, like they always have. But it’s a hard winter every year these days, not because they starve but because the cars kill so many.

There was a car accident and a dead elk last night on the road to town. These animals are too big to be left beside the road so the Department of Transportation has a special elk truck fitted with a winch and a bed that carries two elk with room to spare. They got the first one moved lickety split, along with another than had been thrown into the ditch and frozen. (The following picture has been cropped so it’s not gross).