Elk Behavior II

[Swede]

This may be a more difficult question. Lets see what you can come up with.

We all know that elk like areas with openings and good forage interspersed with hiding and thermal cover. It is a part of the edge effect. All things being equal they like wet areas better than dry ones. A generally arid area even with a river and creek running through it, and just a few scattered springs will get less use than a comparable area with more springs, creeks, and ponds. Why do bulls prefer the secluded wetter areas in the Spring and Summer months?





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[iccyman001]

Well, I don\'t know enough about elk, but I sure can guess.
I\'m guessing a big part of the summer/spring pattern has to do with their daily routine and heat.
They are not being agreesive, establishing territories, looking for cows, etc.
so why not stay somewhere secluded with plenty of cool water to keep the temperature down.
In areas I hunt I find better vegetation and healthy animals near the water than the ones who travel a lot.
You also have all the mud you can handle to roll around in.


Who knows, I shouldn\'t be answering this

 

[cnelk]

They stay away from those nagging cows....

 

[mainebrdr]

I would agree with Icyman\'s, \'better vegetation\' answer. Greener around water.

 

[F M]

Not sure but I would think the times you are talking about they are growing their head gear and they are very tender when they are growing. They don\'t like hitting them on anything. If they have good forage and water and seclusion they can get fat and grow some big head gear :train: .

 

[Swede]

Elk search out pockets of habitat with a high productivity of nutritious forage in the Spring and summer. They are large animals, The cows have a long gestation period. Elk have a slower rate of putting on fat than deer. The bulls need to put on maximum fat in a short period to get ready for the pre rut and rut, which also is earlier than their cousins the deer. You can read about this in the book Elk of North America page 224-228.