First shot: A bull Elk, trotting across an open field to put some distance between himself and the rolling red Toyota blind, gets an idea.

Second shot: It looks like one of his front hooves grazed the top strand of barbwire. Look at how it is now curving downward. Will he make it?

Third shot: Of course he made it! The big guy knows exactly how much energy to expend. See the top strand now bowing upward. And then... he was gone.

Of note: I have never seen an elk in this area, so what a shock to spot this one on an early morning supply run to Swift Current (120 km north of my home). He gave me a brief look, but was on the move before I could lock focus, and all I could photograph was his hindquarters. It worked because he decided to jump the fence - otherwise I would have butt shots of a large animal trotting away from me, not too exciting or memorable.

To my Flickr friends: my pal George the filmmaker is in town so I've been up early (pre-dawn) and out shooting with him; consequently no time or energy to spend online. I'm normally not found drinking coffee and hammering away at the keyboard at 5 a.m. As we move through fall, the sun isn't up until after 7, and the light is good all day. It's a sweet time of year, maybe bittersweet, too, as we lose our migratory birds until next spring and the summer foliage gives us the last bursts of colour we'll see for months (aside from blue skies and blazing red sunrises and sunsets).

Photographed north of Beaver Valley and south of Cadillac, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Elk Cervus canadensis wildlife animal mammal ungulate male bull Wapiti jumping leaping fence wild prairie Beaver Valley SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page triptych three 2023

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Bull Elk go crazy during the rut. If you're not sure what this means, take a good look at this one. He's barely in control of that huge body. He's in an altered state.

A 6x6 bull, he was among the "second tier" of contenders; a 7x9 monster was king. No one dared challenge him, but slightly lesser bulls such as this guy had aspirations. This fellow was standing watch over a resting cow, who appeared indifferent to his attention. Five photographers were bunched fairly close together, shooting through gaps in the foliage. When the cow got to her feet, one of them said, "I think she's going to come our way!" - just what we didn't want.

A moment later she was trotting toward us with the bull in hot pursuit, and we scattered like thrown dice, diving for cover behind thickets of small trees - safer than a single large tree because he knows he can't get in there with that huge rack. This all happened in a few seconds: I glanced over my shoulder, they had veered toward me and were shockingly close. I cut right, stepped in a hole in the tall grass, and crashed to the ground. My left forearm hit something hard. Shooting pain. The elk ran past me and didn't stop. I picked myself up. "You okay?" a couple of the other photographers asked. I said, "Yeah" although I wasn't sure yet if I had broken my arm. It turned out to be a deep contusion, a bone bruise. Ten days later it's a lovely yellow with complementary blue and green. It only hurts when I squeeze it.

I think anyone would have fallen after stepping in the hole that took me down, but still, I was the oldest one there, so it gave me pause. I know I'm not as spry as I once was. However, I kept up a good level of activity and exertion during my week in Jasper, and feel really good in the aftermath. I'm not ready to quit; not yet.

More to come...

Photographed in Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Elk Cervus canadensis Wapiti wildlife animal mammal ungulate male bull antlers vertical rut rutting season crazy hormones urge to merge mating season intensity forest trees wild nature mountains wilderness Canadian Rockies Rocky Mountains Jasper National Park Alberta Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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Not a huge as yesterday's 7x9 monster bull, he was nonetheless pretty solid, and as crazy as all the other Elk during the rut. Five photographers, including me, were shooting into a forest clearing where he stood guarding a single cow and occasionally bugling. We were at a respectful distance. What happened next is just one of those things that happen...

The cow got up from her rest and started ambling toward us. "Uh-oh," someone said, "Here she comes!" The bull was right behind her. She accelerated and we scattered for the nearby trees. I zigged left, looked over my shoulder, saw they were quickly overtaking me, so I cut sharp right - and stepped into a hole that was hidden in tall grass. Down I crashed, striking my left forearm on the sharp edge of a hidden, cut tree stump. Wow, the pain! The two Elk shot past at a brisk trot. "Are you okay?" one of the other photographers asked. I said, "Yeah." The old guy in denial. Over the next few days the point of impact went yellow, then green; I didn't seek medical help because it only hurt when I applied pressure, and there were no moving parts. I wasn't going to truncate my trip over a bone bruise or hairline fracture. It wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me; not even close.

Anyway, after dusting myself off, I worked my way back through the woods, and caught up with the big guy as he emerged into a parking lot, which he slowly crossed, disappearing into the forest on the far side. We were pretty close at this point, but there was some swampy, muddy depressed ground between us, and a lot of small trees and shrubs that gave me partial concealment. And he wasn't acting aggressive in any way. We just had to stay out of his line of travel, lest he get ideas.

Update on the arm: it healed slowly, ached off an on until about late December. It's fine now. I may be too old to be running around the woods like this, but it's still the most fun thing I can think of doing - so I'm not likely to quit anytime soon. I really have narrowed down my list of fun things.

More Elk rut photos still to come...

Photographed in Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Elk Wapiti Cervus canadensis wildlife animal mammal ungulate bull male antlers rut rutting season vertical forest wild nature Jasper National Park Alberta Rocky Mountains Canadian Rockies Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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The morning following the mishap described yesterday, I was up early and back on site. The elk were still in the area; we could hear the big bulls bugling in the forest. I say "we" because this isn't like Grasslands NP, where I usually shoot alone: wildlife photographers are well aware of the elk rut in Jasper.

Here a couple of bull elk engage in some light sparring. Elk are constantly testing each other to establish their place in the herd hierarchy. Real fighting is comparatively rare, and takes place almost exclusively between evenly matched individuals. Lesser bulls know their limitations and back down from a challenge.

More to come...

Photographed in Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Elk Cervus canadensis Wapiti wildlife animal mammal ungulate male bull antlers sparring testing dominance herd hierarchy rut autumn rutting behaviour fall annual right to mate wild mountains nature forest woods Canadian Rockies Rocky Mountains Jasper National Park Alberta Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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This bull Elk stood at the edge of an old sand pit and showed everyone how far he could toss mud and grass. Pretty far, actually. When he had ripped up more turf and finished renovating the mud wallow, he got down and had a good roll in it.

Photographed in Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Elk Cervus canadensis wildlife animal mammal ungulate bull male antlers rut rutting season display mud mud hole mud wallow wild nature Rocky Mountains Canadian Rockies Jasper National Park Alberta Canada copyrighted James R. Page

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