Not me silly – I’m as busy and curious as ever. I honestly don’t have time to find a rut, let alone time to get stuck in one unless we are talking about “The Rut”. The Rut is the magical dance that male elk enter into each fall. Massive bull elk bugle and pose to attract or steal a harem from another massive bull. Sometimes there is a street fight with a clash of antlers – to the victor go the spoils.
The stages of the rut were described to be by wildlife photographer, Michael Dougherty, last week – it’s like a bell curve. The cows are not ready to mate yet, but the bulls are posturing so the bugling and fighting has begun. We are on the front side of the bell curve – rising but no final victors.
I made a trip to the Boxley Valley early last week hoping to see the big bulls and to hear some bugling. The elk are most active an hour before sunset or an hour after sunrise – this was an evening visit, so I was loosing light as time passed. What I saw was a massive harem with a single bull lording over them.
This low field was filled with 35 cows that we could count plus all their calves and some adolescents. I didn’t have a wide enough lens to capture the whole harem. The bull, known as Pretty Boy moves about the harem keeping his girls together.
This is Pretty Boy – he is a 6X6 Bull – 6 spikes on each antler. He’s about 6-7 years old.
Pretty Boy defends his harem from intruders…
Pretty Boy sees a threat and moves into action.
Pretty Boy is serious about his harem – he is chasing off a young male yearling. This young bull is possibly his offspring. It’s like telling your teen that it’s time to pay his own car insurance and do his own laundry. Soon the youngster will be kicked out and will join a bachelor herd for the rest of the season.
Once the threat is addressed Pretty Boy will make is move on the ladies. They express no interest.
With the threat passed, Pretty Boy will sit down for dinner with his leading ladies. Note that our teenager is eating clearly outside the family circle.
After watching Pretty Boy I made a run down to the other end of the valley and noticed that most of the other bulls were doing their own thing or hanging out with the boys…
This Big Boy is a 6X7 and was hanging out alone in a pasture. He’s not wasting his energy waiting on 35 ladies.
This big fella is killing two birds with one stone. He is eating and polishing his antlers by digging into the grass and brush. He’s gearing up for a fight.
Before I left the valley I spotted at least 4 bulls larger than Pretty Boy. None of them were taking care of a harem. There was a lot of bugling away from the harem – boys calling each other across the highway – it was like they were calling each other out, staking their claims.
I returned to the valley on Saturday at dawn with some friends. We saw a few adolescents as we checked out both ends of the valley. As we headed north we saw a lot of parked cars alongside the highway – always a good sign. We parked just in time to see Pretty Boy moving his harem into the river cane. The size of his group was markedly smaller – maybe 20 cows. We saw him at the corner of the meadow, he bugled and all those cows bolted and followed him behind the curtain.
This line of river cane separates the elk’s public and private spaces. After feeding they bed down on the other side for the day. Pretty Boy guides them to a more secure area.
Michael, the photographer I mentioned earlier, told me that he moved the harem because he knew there was a rival in the area.
We cruised the valley hoping for another siting and were about to call it a day when we saw the same harem emerge in another meadow downstream.
Pretty Boy positioned himself between the cows and the line of river cane – clearly he was concerned about a rival beyond the cane.
He gradually moved the cows away from the river and they came very close to the road where we were watching.
We were standing along a treeline – shooting through it – when the cows started checking us out.
The harem was getting restless – wanting to move away from the road…
But Pretty Boy was holding his ground – barring them from the cane.
Even our young teenager is moved along with the cows.
Pretty Boy moves even closer to the road – barring the harem from the cane. He bugles to let the girls know that he is the man in charge.
In chaos, the cows turn as they hear another voice in the distance…
Pretty Boy looks on as the cows start to move.
Pretty Boy Bugles in an attempt to stop the cows from running towards the cane.
The cows break for it and run to the cane. They hear a new voice calling from the river.
Pretty boy sings his heart out as the girls run for the river.
Calling the cows is not working, Pretty Boy heads for the river.
As the cows leave, we hear them chirping, calling their calves. This youngster ran with the lead pack of cows only to discover his mother wasn’t there – he seemed caught in no-man’s-land, not sure which group he belonged with.
Pretty Boy drops his head and moves towards the cane. We hear bugling from him and from the river as the cows leave him.
Pretty Boy looks crestfallen as he moves towards the cane – but he has a plan…
Pretty Boy shows his stuff – he digs those antlers into the ground and calls to the girls…
“Don’t go!” They are not impressed. He loses all but 4 cows in less than 5 minutes.
Michael told us to watch for a potential fight, but the rival beyond the cane never appeared. Pretty Boy had put in so much work and lost it all in moments. According to Micheal, this is the third year he has lost his harem – he’s had his pocket picked three times now. He’s just not big enough to take on the big boys yet. His strategy was to start with a large harem and try his best to hang onto them, meanwhile his rivals rest and eat and wait for their opportunity to steal the cows. The good news for Pretty Boy is that the big boys will tire out before the rut is over. There are 4 cycles of mating and by the end of the third they are spent. That’s when the fellas like Pretty Boy take over. Between now and then he will likely spar as he tries for a piece of the harem, but the truth is that he only really has a shot at the last cycle.
Until next year, Pretty Boy really is stuck in a rut.
the eff stop 
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Amazing shots, Lorri! I wouldn’t want to meet Pretty Boy in a dark alley! He looks huge!
Incredible series of photos, and I learned a lot, too. Thank you. 🙂 They are such beautiful animals.
Thanks Robin – they are so stunning to watch. I look forward to the rut every year.
Amazing series of photos — “the harem was getting restless” photo is one of my favorites! However, the shots you got of Pretty Boy bugling are pretty spectacular. What a special opportunity you had to observe this.
Thank you – those shots into the herd were just luck – I tried to focus on a face and hope for the best.
I love bulging season. We spent many a weekend at Rocky Mountain National Park, where the elk are large and in charge. These are some of the best shots I’ve ever seen. My fave is Big Boy with his leading ladies. Terrific shots all, Lorri.
Thanks Steph. I love RMNP – and the elk there are pretty spectacular. These are Colorado elk – they are the masters of the valley to be sure. I loved it when all those cows looked over at me – just good timing. I felt so bad for Pretty Boy, working so hard and losing it all anyway.
Wonderful photos! Thanks for the rutting lesson. 🙂
Thanks – my pleasure!
This is a great Post… lovely photos and a good explanation of the goings on in nature there by you… as this really interests me as to the behaviour of these animals I found this such a good educational piece as well … thank you… great post…
Thanks Bulldog – I think we both seem to like trying to understand the behavior we see in the wild. This is my third year watching the rut – the elk are an amazingly complex species.
Great photos and more panoramic that your usual photo shoots so it shows that you are versatile. Just curious, how many hours a week do you spend on your photography?
Thanks so much. I shoot everyday, I try to get an hour in every day during the week, but it depends on the light. I probably shoot 10-15 hours a week. I look at it like playing an instrument, practice every day:)
Ahh yes, I know that so well (the practice every day). Good on you!
Facinating and very interesting! Thanks for sharing your awesome photos and commentary Lorri!
Thanks Diana
Your surrounding area is so beautiful. It suits you.
xo
Great Photos, Lorri.
How lucky you are to see these annual displays of competition between the bulls.
Wish I was there to capture the wildlife in photos for myself. Even just watching would be amazing.
Thanks Vicki. On the evening we were out most of the action was in low light – Boxley is a narrow valley – and there are strong shadows as the sun sets – so watching was the best we could do. That sound is amazing. I’m hoping to record it on a weekend soon.
Nice post & photos, Lorrie. We used to see a lot of Elk when we lived in Colorado and out here we have Thule Elk, but it is harder to go find them.
These are Colorado elk, transplanted here in the 90’s – The original variety that was native here are extinct – the same as most of the native elk on the east coast. I’ve never seen a tule elk – googling them they look like a smaller version of the wapiti
Great post! I loved watching the elk bugle last year, but we didn’t get a chance to go this time around.
There’s still time this year – at least there is here 🙂 I have seen the bugling as late as Thanksgiving weekend. It’s an amazing sound. Almost etherial.
Most definitely, and now you’ve got me pondering a road trip… 🙂
C’mon down! 🙂
Great photos, and Pretty Boy looks spectacular. Rutting season is always a special time of the year…the onset of autumn and beginning of hunting season, but also a time to really take in the beauty of nature. Cheers.
Thanks – I love this time of year – so many sights to take in. The rut is just the icing on the cake:)
Awesome! I also learned so much more than I knew before. Wonderful pictures Lorri!
Thanks Jackie – I got some great info from some locals – they are fascinating creatures
Fascinating tale and photography – you must feel so privileged to see this each year – I know feel that I was there with you! And I love that photo of the female looking back at you.
Thanks – I do feel really lucky to be close enough to follow these guys. Most of the photogs who show up on the weekends chase the big bulls – I kinda like getting a cool shot of a cow like that. She was so close, almost within arms reach.