Last week I took the opportunity to get up early and head up to the high country for one of my final visits of the season before the first snow flies. I greatly enjoy the Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, exploring the valley towards the top, and spending time with the elk herd that calls the area home. They are an interesting herd as they are currently being studied because they prefer mostly to stay higher all year round. They don’t often leave the park boundaries if they even come down that far at all.
My hopes for the morning were to be up towards the top for sunrise, and while I was a little later than I’d initially planned, I was still out of the car just after the sun crested the eastern foothills. As I was driving up, I had a debate on whether or not to stay low, exploring in the trees, or to head up high and investigate the Krumholtz.
I opted for the high country, and as I was pulling the car into a parking pull-out, I noticed that my call was correct on activity: there was a harem of about 20 or more cows and a few bulls in the scrub willow marsh just below the Alpine Visitors Center on Trail Ridge Road.
Not wanting to get too close and disturb them, but also hoping to anticipate their movement and gain a good angle for photography, I decided to stay high and try to circle above them. As I headed out onto the northern flank of the cirque, my eye was caught by an unexpected sight. There, above the elk and right in my chosen path, was a small herd of mule deer, mostly bucks, with one or two does in tow. While I’ve encountered lone mule deer that high on occasion, it was surprising to see this small group up there together, especially at this time of the year.
I stopped to take in the activity, as while I had been working my way through the thick Krumholtz pines on my approach, the elk harem was being pushed up high by the alpha bull, in an effort to move them away from the other smaller bulls who might try to show some competition. Not trying to be stealthy in my approach, I noticed that all the eyes of the mule deer were cautiously locked onto this lone human emerging from the stunted trees. Since they were well over 100 yards away, they soon deemed me not to be a threat, and continued their meandering morning graze.
I came upon another thick stand of pines, and as I once again emerged on the other side, about 80 yards from the deer, I saw that two of the bucks had decided to square off on a large patch of bare dirt and began to spar.
I’ve enjoyed being in the company of many mule deer in my time here in Colorado, and have even had some pretty unique rut encounters with my former muley neighbors on Sunnyside, but I’d never witnessed the bucks sparring or battling. While they were still a few weeks or more away from the beginning of the mule deer rut, like all members of the deer family this time of year, they were obviously a little antsy and anxious.
Like most sparring, it was mostly gentle pushing, but after a few minutes they got a little more “heated” and aggressive. As I’ve mentioned before, their sparring is just like human sparring, and not typically intended to do harm. Often it is just practicing head/antler placement and moves, with little actual pressure on each other. After one last haughty push from the uphill buck that was a bit more heated than the rest of the encounter, the two split up and resumed their breakfast.
This activity was being carefully watched by two younger bull elk, who were left behind after the alpha drove the harem up the cliff, and they decided to enjoy a bit of play themselves. They too squared off and began their own practice rounds. While the elk rut is in full swing, they showed no real signs of aggression and simply practiced moves.
I came across one of them later on in my trek and learned what I hadn’t noticed during their sparring: he had non-typical antlers which left him with only the left antler full, his right just a deformed stump that had grown downward in front of his face. This explained the lack of vigor, and also left me wondering if this might be the same non-typical bull I’ve encountered a few times in the same valley over the last three or four years.
I continued my journey, leaving all of the previous characters on the grand stage to continue their dawn rituals and headed higher in search of more. While the morning was ultimately not as photographically rewarding as I had hoped, it was still a spectacular time spent with the stunning wildlife who call the high cirque home.
We are truly blessed to be able to enjoy such intimate encounters with our wild neighbors right in our own back yard (or “North 40,” as I like to call the national park). Take some time of your own this fall to get out and observe this amazing show of the season that is the elk, deer, and moose ruts!
For additional information about James DeWalt Photography, check out https://jamesdewaltphotography.com.
