Elk, Cervus canadensis

Bull elk, with large antlers, alongside female elk during rutting season, autumn. A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators. Only mature bulls have large harems and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls between two to four years and over 11 years of age rarely have harems, and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems. Young and old bulls that do acquire a harem hold it later in the breeding season than do bulls in their prime. A bull with a harem rarely feeds and he may lose up to 20 percent of his body weight while he is guarding the harem. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, Cervus canadensis, natural history stock photograph, photo id 19724Add To Light Table
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Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females. Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Image #19693
Bull elk spar to establish harems of females, Gibbon Meadow. Gibbon Meadows, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Image #13151
Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females. Madison River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Image #19697
Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females. Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Image #19698
Elk, bull elk, adult male elk with large set of antlers. By September, this bull elk's antlers have reached their full size and the velvet has fallen off. This bull elk has sparred with other bulls for access to herds of females in estrous and ready to mate. Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Image #19721
Roosevelt elk, adult bull male with large antlers. This bull elk has recently shed the velvet that covers its antlers. While an antler is growing, it is covered with highly vascular skin called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing bone; once the antler has achieved its full size, the velvet is lost and the antler's bone dies. This dead bone structure is the mature antler, which is itself shed after each mating season. Roosevelt elk grow to 10' and 1300 lb, eating grasses, sedges and various berries, inhabiting the coastal rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. Redwood National Park, California, USA. Image #25890

Bull elk, with large antlers, alongside female elk during rutting season, autumn. A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators. Only mature bulls have large harems and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls between two to four years and over 11 years of age rarely have harems, and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems. Young and old bulls that do acquire a harem hold it later in the breeding season than do bulls in their prime. A bull with a harem rarely feeds and he may lose up to 20 percent of his body weight while he is guarding the harem. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

Stock Photo: 19724
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Format: Digital 3:2
Other Names: wapiti
Copyright © Phillip Colla, all rights reserved worldwide.
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Keywords: animal, animalia, antler, artiodactyla, artiodactyle ungulate, autumn, canadensis, cervid, cervidae, cervinae, cervus, cervus canadensis, cervus elephus canadensis, chordata, creature, elaphus, elk, elk rut, elk rutting season, fall, mammal, national parks, nature, ruminant, rut, rutting season, ungulate, usa, vertebrata, vertebrate, wapiti, wildlife, world heritage sites, wyoming, yellowstone, yellowstone national park

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