It is that time of year again. For many local wildlife photographers, September marks one of the best times of year to be in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park.
Rut season has arrived and that means lots of photos with steamy breath, lip curls, rattling antlers, sparring matches, powerful bugles with spittle projecting from a bull’s mouth, frosted antlers, snow-covered meadows full of elk and many other photo-worthy scenarios.
And it isn’t just local photographers that go ga-ga over photos during the elk rut season. Many nature lovers with shutter-finger syndrome (a non-fatal obsessive need to press that camera shutter button at the sight of birds, megafauna and/or small mammals) arrive in the valleys around Estes Park in the fall to witness this unique behavior of the animal kingdom.
Based on how quickly the early morning timed-entry reservations for the Bear Lake Corridor in Rocky Mountain National Park sold out on Aug. 1 for the September timeframe, it looks like the crowds will be present yet again this year. (Some blocks of time during the peak of the elk rut in September were sold out within minutes of going on sale, and the recent release of October dates sold out just as quickly for the first week of October.)
So, what is elk rut?
Rut is a term that describes a mating season, particularly for ruminant mammals, like deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose and elk. It only happens once a year for these mammals and, depending on the species, can be quite animated and dramatic. Elk are one of those species that put on quite the show during the rut.
A female elk, called a cow, will only go into heat for about 17 hours, according to one study of elk over a three-year period in the 1950s. They will have multiple heat cycles, occurring up to three times about every 21-days, if they are not successfully impregnated on the first try.
Male elk, called bulls, rub off the velvet from their antlers, a process that indicates the first stages of the rut season. The vascularization in the velvet provides the nutrients the antlers need to grow up to an inch a day throughout the summer. Once the antlers reach their maximum size, the blood flow stops, the velvet starts to dry out and the bull rubs off the velvet. This happens about the second week of August in the Estes Valley area.
Late each August, as the tundra starts to see its first coatings of frost, the elk herds start to move out of the high country and back down into the valleys and meadows. Here they will gather to find their mates — the cows choose which bull she will allow to mate with her — before moving to even lower elevations in late October or early November for the winter. Bulls will collect cows to form harems during the rut, and will fiercely defend the girls from other males.
Planning for a successful photo shoot during the elk rut is pretty straightforward but here are some tips to improve your chances of capturing your own spittle photo.
1. Know when to go. Elk are most active in the early mornings and late afternoons. During the rut, and especially near the full moon, which happens on Thursday, September 28 and allows the elk to move about under the cover of full moonlight, elk are active all night long. The full moon this year also happens to coincide with the peak time of the elk rut, which is typically the last two weeks of September through the first week of October. Because of this nocturnal and crepuscular activity, elk tend to be very mellow as they rest during the sunny hours of the day. Mornings in particular offer unique atmospheric conditions, like fog and frost, that often don’t develop in the afternoons.
2. Know where to go. The bulk of the elk rut activity takes place in open meadows, with Horseshoe Park, Upper Beaver Meadows and Moraine Park historically being the most active locations. Elk will move into other areas, such as Endovalley, or stay on the tundra longer than other groups as well. In Estes Park, the best locations to look for elk are near the Lake Estes 9-Hole Golf Course, the Estes Park 18-Hole Golf Course and Stanley Park. Always be vigilant when in town as elk will move around the downtown area and nearby roads as well. Please be respectful of private property.
3. Watch the behaviors to anticipate particular actions. There are many behaviors to watch for to help a photographer anticipate a particular action. For example, if a cow urinates on the ground, a bull elk will investigate by sniffing the urine-soaked spot to help him determine if she is in estrus. After sniffing the urine, he will lift his head and typically give a lip curl, also called a flehmen response. It is a comical look on such a masculine looking animal. Another example is if a nearby bull bugles, the dominant bull will often respond with his own bugle. Sometimes a bull will also bugle after sniffing cow urine. Have your camera ready to capture the iconic bugling photo, a behavior that only lasts a few seconds. If you seek a photo of a running bull, watch for a cow wandering out of the harem. The bull will try to corral her back to the group, often running to her and behind her. Just don’t get between the two; the bull won’t care about running you over.
4. Carry your camera gear at all times. The best camera you have is the one with you. That may be a cell phone or $15,000 worth of lens and camera body. It is best to give the elk room and use a zoom. If you don’t have a long zoom lens, consider taking a wide-angle photo of the scene with the elk as the focal point. This style of photograph, called an environmental portrait, can be more memorable and more impressive than a full frame shot of a single animal. A safe guideline for distance is to use your thumb. Hold your thumb out over the animal. If you can’t see any of the animal beyond your thumb, you are at a safe distance.
Remember that even though elk may appear to be comfortable around people, they are still wild animals. They can be unpredictable during the rut, and bulls in particular have one thing on their mind. As a result, they are not afraid to charge through anything, or anyone, in the path to their goal.
Dawn Wilson is the outdoor reporter for the Estes Park Trail-Gazette. She also guides in Rocky Mountain National Park, leads photo workshops throughout North and South America, sells prints of her photographs, and recently published 100 Things to Do in Estes Park Before You Die. To learn more about her work, visit www.DawnWilsonPhotography.com.
