Pennsylvania Elk Range, Day 5
September 25 was our last morning in Pennsylvania. We were up early and headed for Benezette
before the sun had risen. The viewing
areas on Winslow Hill Road and Dewey Road were blanketed in heavy fog…
We could hear bulls bugling nearby but the visibility was
very limited. I did manage to get photos
of a couple bulls and cows before the fog swallowed them up…
As you no doubt have noticed, many of the elk wear
collars. These are equipped with a radio
transmitter that allows wildlife biologists to track the movement of the elk, as
well as gather important information about the size and range of the herd. The collars are a distraction to some, and
many photographers remove them with photo editing software. I don’t have a problem with this practice,
but I chose to leave the images as they were photographed.
Because of the fog we left Winslow Hill earlier than we had
planned to go back to the campground and get everything ready for the trip to
Maryland. While traveling on Rt. 555 we
had just passed a sign…
Cheryl looked to the left and said “there’s a bull”. We made a U-turn and headed back to the parking
area for the public hunting land. The
bull that we first spotted from the road was a young one, with typical antlers
that held promise of growing into trophies someday…
There was another, larger, bull feeding nearby. This one had the genetic trait that caused
his antlers to grow wide instead of tall.
In my earlier post (Day 1), I mentioned that the locals call bulls with
antlers like these “helicopter” bulls…
In doing further reading about the elk rut in Pennsylvania I have learned that these animals will likely remain visible in the areas I have mentioned at least through November. If the drive is not too far for you, I would highly recommend a visit to the Pennsylvania Elk Range.
The last photo was taken in the parking lot for the Hicks Run Viewing Area. It is an old mountain cemetery. The kind that can be found all through the Appalachian Mountains...
Thanks for visiting, stay well, and come back soon.
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