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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