Elk report

The Elk

The elk herds migrate each fall from Yellowstone National Park to the Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole. Along the way they like to take a break and graze through our neighborhood. In the fall they lay with groups in the meadows and I can hear them bugling all night long, my step dad bugles back. The elk travel in big herds, usually twenty or more. They bugle during mating season, you can hear them fighting as the males crash their horns into each other when this occurs. In the spring as soon as the weather starts to get nice, most of the elk herd, migrate off of the elk refuge and hurry back to Yellowstone. The older and much wiser elk realize that spring teases us, and takes its time getting to Jackson Hole. These elk bed down in our yard for several days. They graze on the grasses, and I can watch their velvety antlers grow bigger day after day. As spring sets in, I also notice that the elk have enjoyed feasting on all of the new landscaping that we planted the year before. The willow bushes have been munched to the roots, the bark has been stripped from the trees, and the grass has been fertilized in spots from their scat. It seems like as fast as they have came, the heard has moved on, and we will not see the heard again until fall comes around. It’s fun to them jump over the fences to our yard.