Pennsylvania, a great place to experience Elk

The Elk rut is a time of intense activity with adult bulls challenging one another, bugling, and fighting.  However in this moment, as a big bull bugled with his breath turning to steam in the frosty mountain air a cow and calf in the foreground lend the appearance of a family posed for a portrait. 

 A moment later the bull turned his head looking directly towards the lens as he again roared forth his challenge.  The bugle of a bull elk drifting across the countryside is an unmistakably beautiful sound of the wildlands.

Even during the frenzy of the rut a cow takes time out to do her duty as a mother nursing her calf.  The calves, with the exception of a few late born, have lost their spots appearing as miniatures of their mothers.

 

Pennsylvania offers a unique opportunity to view and photograph elk close-up with the Winslow Hill herd being acclimated to where they pay little attention to humans.  However these are wild animals in the sense that they are free-ranging and should not be approached too closely.  The first two photos in this post were taken using a 600mm lens and the last with a 500mm at distances of 80-100 yards.  A distance at which both the elk and the photographers remain safe.