Large Bull Elk

[larryj]

A few years ago I was driving along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain national Park and spotted a large bull elk resting (or sleeping) in a small meadow right very close to the road. There was a parking area near the meadow and I grabbed my trusty Sigma 50-500 mm OS lens and started up the road toward the elk. I got close enough that I only had to shoot a 167 mm to get this shot. There were a bunch of people crowding each other to get shots of the elk and he did not move and did not seem to bothered by their presence.

 

[Peter Michal]

Nice catch Larry.. you wouldn't find it in our area - you'd have to go deep into the woods.

 

[AlanLichty]

That's quite the amazing rack on this guy. Nice he waited around for his portrait.

 

[Jon Bev]

Awesome.

 

[MonikaC]

Nice rack! Yeah, those guys are very used to tourists flocking around them.

 

[larryj]

Nice catch Larry.. you wouldn't find it in our area - you'd have to go deep into the woods.

Thanks Peter your comment are appreciated! The elk in this national park are very tame and frequently stroll down the streets of Estes Park, Colorado, however bull elk can be dangerous during the rutting season, and cow elk with calfs.

That's quite the amazing rack on this guy. Nice he waited around for his portrait.

Thanks Alan; I was hoping that he would sit up and really show off his rack, but sometimes you have to take what the critter gives you!

 

[larryj]

Awesome.

Thanks Jon for looking and commenting, appreciated.

 

[larryj]

Nice rack! Yeah, those guys are very used to tourists flocking around them.

Thanks MonikaC.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Larry, this is awesome! I have gotten some pretty cool elk images along Trail Ridge Road, it's a fun road to drive.

The rack on this guy is so huge!

 

[Alisa]

What a great image! Just snoozing among the flowers.

 

[larryj]

What a great image! Just snoozing among the flowers.

Thanks Alisa: there were a couple of other bulls in this area, but this guy had the best spot and just relaxed not bothered by anything!

 

[larryj]

Hey Larry, this is awesome! I have gotten some pretty cool elk images along Trail Ridge Road, it's a fun road to drive.

The rack on this guy is so huge!

HI JIm: thanks for the comments.

I have an image of a granddaddy bull elk that makes this guy look medium size. He walked right in front of me on Trail ridge road. I stopped and grabbed the camera and got out of the car. A park ranger was close by and told me to get back in my car because I could not stop at that point. He was pretty serious so I grabbed a quick off hand shot and got back in my car and started back down he road. The image is slightly out of focus, but really shows the big elk cresting a hill and his enormous rack against the sky, attached below!

 

[JimFox]

HI JIm: thanks for the comments.

I have an image of a granddaddy bull elk that makes this guy look medium size. He walked right in front of me on Trail ridge road. I stopped and grabbed the camera and got out of the car. A park ranger was close by and told me to get back in my car because I could not stop at that point. He was pretty serious so I grabbed a quick off hand shot and got back in my car and started back down he road. The image is slightly out of focus, but really shows the big elk cresting a hill and his enormous rack against the sky, attached below!

Wow! That's huge! This looks really cool, even if a slight bit out of focus. It's great you got this one image. There are some pullouts on Trail Ridge road, probably more then a lot of roads, but still never enough.