"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold




"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein


“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir


Thursday, September 26, 2013

Pennsylvania Elk Range


Pennsylvania Elk Range…Day One, September 21, 2013
I have known about the presence of wild, free roaming elk in Pennsylvania for some time.  The four hour drive had always deterred me from visiting the area in the past.  This year, my wife and I decided that the time had come, so we headed for the small town of Benezette to spend five days viewing and photographing the elk.  Our visit started on September 21, which was rainy and overcast, but the weather did not deter the elk from feeding and displaying rutting behavior.
In the first photos a bull is approaching a group of cows and calves... 


While traveling on Route 555 we encountered a group of bulls grazing near the road.  Anyone who lives in deer country is familiar with the sight of deer feeding in yards. In elk country the same holds true for elk.  They can often be seen grazing on lawns while ignoring the traffic that is whizzing by only yards away…
 
The next photo is of a bull displaying a genetic abnormality that causes its antlers to grow outward, rather than upward as is normally the case.  I learned, during our visit, that these bulls are referred to locally as “helicopter” bulls…


One young bull is shaking the rain from his coat in this photo…


The last photo in this post is of a yearling calf that we found along Winslow Hill Road…

Next week I will add the photos taken on day two of our trip.
Here is a link to more info on the Pennsylvania elk: http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/elk.htm
Information about the Elk Country Visitor Center can be found here: http://elkcountryvisitorcenter.com/drupal/
Thanks for visiting and remember to stop back soon.  

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