We wonder when this elk's hormones will kick in and he will leave the Mendocino coast in search of a mate. But for now, he seems content to hang out with a herd of domestic cows on a farm north of Point Arena. Ferne Fedeli recently photographed him with his growing antlers.
He looks pretty darn handsome, don't you think?
Thanks to Ferne for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
Ron Bolander was driving on Highway One near Westport (north of Fort Bragg) when he saw this huge Roosevelt Elk.
There were three more resting and grazing in the grasses, all males.
So far we haven't seen any females...yet! It seems like they are extending their territory southward, an exciting development.
Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Ron has a showing of his nature photography at the White Cap in Anchor Bay. The opening is Sunday, July 1st, 3 to 5 pm.
There have been numerous sightings of this bull Elk, most often seen near the town of Elk, appropriately enough. Paul Brewer recently spotted him south of Elk. Here the Elk is resting amidst some domestic cows.
I sure hope he doesn't think these domestic cows are his harem!
Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/
Jeff Ward and the Jerrold Baker family were driving down Highway One south of The Sea Ranch. They could hardly believe their eyes. It was a big Roosevelt Elk.
Here's what Jeff had to saw about their extremely rare sighting:
“We were heading south on Highway One from Gualala. All of a sudden Jerrold yells, ‘What is that?!’ It was a Roosevelt Elk! The Elk was in a full sprint at about 35 mph running on the west side of the highway. It leaped over two barbed wire fences dividing the pastures, completely clearing the fences by four feet on each side, incredible to see.”
As Jeff and the Bakers watched in awe, the Elk jumped another fence and was then running south in the northbound lane of the highway. Fortunately there was no traffic and the Elk veered east and disappeared into the forest.
Jeff continued, “My guess is the Elk’s weight was approximately 650+ pounds. The rack was level to my windshield on a Dodge 2500 3/4 ton 4x4 truck and the spread of the points was about 3 ½ feet.”
These huge elk are normally found to our far north, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. What it was doing on the Mendonoma Coast is a mystery. The much smaller Tule Elk can be seen at Point Reyes to our south.
Thanks to Jeff for allowing me to share his photo and sighting with you here.