Bull Elk
While visiting my parents for thanksgiving, my mom and I were headed to a wine tasting at Frey Vineyards and decided to take a detour through Little Lake Valley in Willits, with hopes of seeing some of the Tule elk that inhabit the area. It wasn’t long before we encountered a small herd of 4 or 5 males. They were quite far away, but the zoom lens on my camera closed the distance enough for me to take some photos. After photographing them for a while we got back in the car and continued on our way. But soon after we came across a second herd. There were even fewer of them, but they were a little closer to the road and were particularly well endowed (I’m referring to their horns, obviously). So we pulled over again and took some photos of the second herd as well. I’ll be sharing more photos in the future, but here’s one of my favorites that I took of the largest bull elk. He was aware of my presence but not at all concerned—calm confidence. Such a beautiful animal.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m constantly thankful for all of your love and support—thank you, thank you, thank you!
"Tule elk are the smallest elk in North America and are only found in California. They are distinguished by their white rump. Each year, males grow a new rack of antlers, which become progressively larger as they age."
-Open Space Authority (website)
