The Elk we saw Tonight

[SlowMover]

Several of you on the forum asked me to post a pic of the elk in the field across from my daughters house I talked about in my last post. The elk haven't been there since I posted, her landlord (owner of the land) ran them off the hay field a couple of times and they moved down the river. We were on our way back from Pendleton Oregon this evening, and just a few miles from her house we saw this group coming down to another hay field. It was nearly dark, and they are across the river, across the hay field, and on the slope of the mountain so I was at near maximum digital zoom on my camera..hence the pixilation and off blue shade to the color...it is the best I can do under the circumstances. We actually saw two other herds of elk on the drive back home tonight, but we weren't able to pull over on the two lane roads safely for any pictures. We must have see a hundred (not by any means an exaggeration) mule dear, some in groups of 10-20 on the drive...it is the most deer I have ever seen per mile in my life, luckily none were on the road. Today was one of the best wildlife viewing days of my life...hope you enjoy the picture.

[Brian T]

Re: The Elk we saw Tonight

I love those vegetarians. Right between the peas and mashed potatoes.

Elk have been sneaking into my country from the east (Jasper National Park) for the past 20 years. Lots here now and they are hay stack wreckers. Literally foreign, nuisance animals that never lived here before. Impressive fencing if you have any plans to feed your hay to your cattle this winter!

Matriarch herds, but management is still bulls only.
They won't start buguling for another 3-4 weeks.

[Soggy]

Re: The Elk we saw Tonight

Thanks Kent! Great picture and it sure sounds like you are in a hot spot for seeing wildlife.
Soggy

[toycarver]

Re: The Elk we saw Tonight

Pretty cool. Pendleton is 45 miles from where I live, btw. I looked on the map, and it looks like your daughter lives where snow is plenty in the Winter.