At one time, elk (wapiti) were found across North America, but now are mostly found in western North America. By the late 1800’s they were no longer in Ontario. However, in recent years, there have been shipments of elk from Elk Island National Park, Alberta, to areas in Ontario. The Bancroft North Hastings area received a herd in 1999/2000. This is the closest area to us, and even though we drive through this area many times a year, we have only seen them once.
This meant that I was quite interested in seeing some elk when we travelled west this fall. We were there during rutting season, and actually walked around in the Elk Island National Park for a bit … and we still didn’t see any there. I was glad we didn’t see any when we were walking on the trails though.
When we were driving through Jasper, we were able to see this male (bull) on the side of the road. His herd was just down the road from him.
I was amazed at how close the people were to the elk, even though there were all kinds of warnings about getting too close and how dangerous it was, especially during rutting season when the bulls can be very aggressive. I felt much safer hiding behind our trailer and using my telephoto lens.
When we were at the BC Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, we were able to see another herd, and watch them up close.
We were able to see how aggressive the bull can be – “Thunder” definitely made sure his herd knew that he was in charge.
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I think the most fascinating one for me was the bull at Jasper. They are big – much bigger than deer. With the antlers, the bull can be 9 feet tall. I wouldn’t want to meet one on a trail.
