Fall elk

A beautiful bull elk a few miles from Clam Lake Wisconsin.

This small bull elk is checking behind it as another bull bugles in the distance.

I located this elk calf and cow wearing a radio collar near the edge of a logging clear cut.  I found them here twice over the course of three days.

This bull elk was staying near the cow and calf.

This is another photo of the best bull I was able to photograph this fall. The bull came out near the road to gather one of the cows from his harem. The cow had walked across the highway to the other side. The bull came up to the edge of the road and waited until the cow came back to his side and rejoined four other cows in his harem.

Here's a glimpse of a little fall color seen from one of the forest roads near Clam Lake.  I made several trips to the area to see, hear, and photograph elk during the rut with some success. 

I learned that Wisconsin elk have very different habits than the elk in Wyoming and Alberta.  Out west the elk seem to gravitate towards open meadows during the fall rut.  The Wisconsin elk seem quite content to stay in the woods and it wasn't easy to find them out in the open during daylight hours.  

It may be that there are so few elk in the area (only 140 or so) that the entire rut dynamic is differerent.  The bull I found with the collared cow and calf seemed quite content to quietly wait nearby for the cow to come into estrus.  He never bugled and didn't seem to want to draw any attention to himself.  I'm not sure if that is normal operating procedure for these Wisconsin bulls or if this bull was mute due to his relatively small size.  Either way, it was lots of fun spending time with wild elk in Wisconsin during the rut.

Wild Wisconsin Elk!

This beautiful wild bull elk wearing a radio collar is part of the Clam Lake elk herd located in the Chequamegon - Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Historically elk were found throughout the state of Wisconsin, but by the turn of the twentieth century they had been completely extirpated due to over hunting. After an absence of almost 100 years in 1995 25 elk were reintroduced to the Wisconsin wilds.

This original herd of 25 elk has now grown to an estimated 144 animals and that is not counting the soon to be born calves of this year. All and all it's quite a success story and great to have elk back in Wisconsin.

Two bull elk in April of 2009.



Although this small bull elk was photographed in late April it had yet to drop it's antlers.



The young bull didn't seem the least bit camera shy.



It is important for motorists to pay attention while driving in the Clam Lake area. Street signs with yellow caution lights have been placed along several miles of highway 77 to warn drivers and protect the elk.

Over the years I have enjoyed photographing elk many times in the western United States and Canada, but it sure is nice to be able to spend time with these magnificent animals right here in Wisconsin.

If you have the chance to go to the Clam Lake area I hope that you see some Wisconsin elk. As with all wildlife viewing, there are no guarantees, but I've seen elk about 33% of the time this year. If you go, good luck and enjoy the elk.