Bitterroot elk in December

I took a late afternoon hike and came upon a pretty good sized herd of elk. There was at least one bull with 4 points, plenty of cows and calves and a few rag-horn and spike bull. One young bull seemed curious about me so I got a few photos. Today was overcast and by now it was getting very dark, but here is what I was able to get.

"Young bull elk" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Young bull elk" by amontanaview | RedBubble:


Young bull elk. Taken south of Sweathouse Creek west of Victor, Montana USA in early April. He was with a small group of cow elk just hanging out. I wonder what he is thinking or looking at…
He is part of a large herd (about 100 elk) that roam this area. Sometimes they are all together, this time of year, they break into smaller groups. Soon the cows will be finding a quiet place to calve, then they will get together in larger “nursery” groups again.

Canon EOS 7D 1/1250s, f/4.0, ISO: 250, 500 mm
Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM lens

"Looking over her shoulder, cow elk in the spring" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Looking over her shoulder, cow elk in the spring" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Taken in the early evening west of Victor, Montana USA near Sweathouse Creek in mid-March. This was a small group of elk, about 12 of them at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains. There were a few White-tailed deer mixed in with these elk cows, calves and a few spikes (young bull elk). The mature cows will be dropping their young in a few months. They are looking for nutritious feed and lots of it.

Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM,
1/400s, f/5.6, ISO: 320, 300mm, manual setting

"Heads up everyone" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Heads up everyone" by amontanaview | RedBubble:


Description:

A group of elk in January. Taken west of Victor, Montana USA at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains near Sweathouse Creek. There were a total of about thirty head in this group of cows, calves and a few spike bulls. Just a few miles south was another group, similar size and make up. In the fall when they gather together and our local herd becomes about 100 plus head. The big bulls are off in the higher country on their own this time of year.
See more photos in my SmugMug album Elk cows, calves and a few spike bulls
Canon EOS 7D, 1/500s, f/4.0, ISO: 200, 500mm, Manual setting
Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM lens, handheld over my arm on tree (I didn't want to spook them by setting up the tripod)

"Elk in the Bitterroot Valley in January" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Elk in the Bitterroot Valley in January" by amontanaview | RedBubble:



Two cows and two calves were moving from a pasture into timber here. This photo has only one of the calves. The day was overcast and snowing lightly in early January 2012. To me, the interesting behavior was how the two cows stayed so close together as they milled around while I snapped the photos. When I left, they continued to calmly move up into the timber.
See more photos at Two elk cows and calves in January