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Life in Nature: Winter living

JAMES DeWALT
Posted 1/22/25

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK - Winter in the mountains is no joke, at least for us humans. 

As I write this article, the snow is falling along with the temperatures, and we are about to take our first dip into the negatives for 2025. This...

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Life in Nature: Winter living

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK - Winter in the mountains is no joke, at least for us humans. 

As I write this article, the snow is falling along with the temperatures, and we are about to take our first dip into the negatives for 2025. This isn’t in any way unusual, as we have seen much colder temps than are predicted and have experienced these frigid periods for far longer than this spell is expected to last. 

However, this knowledge never reduces the annual shock when we take the first big plunge of the season.

Being hairless and quite literally thin-skinned, it’s easy for us to have difficulty in accepting this cold reality. Furthermore, it is easy to fall into anthropomorphosis (imposing human thoughts and emotions on animals) in an attempt to empathize with the plight of wildlife living in these conditions. 

The reality is that they are well-equipped for these conditions and have lived out in the elements for quite literally the entire span of human existence (and theirs, which is likely a good bit longer), and are, for the most part, quite fine with it. Those that aren’t have learned over the millennia to move elsewhere.

This week we look at our neighbors, the elk, as a living example of the resilience of life in the wild.  We often associate preparations for winter with migration to lower elevations. In some cases this is true, but not always. 

The main factor of this behavior is food, and access to it. Elk, like any member of the deer family, will eat just about any vegetation in the winter, from grass to pine needles, and even twigs. If snow becomes deep enough that getting to grass becomes more difficult than it is worth, they may move. 

If there are enough supplemental foods to compensate, they may well stay relatively close to their summer haunts. A large herd requires a lot of food; thus, they will likely move.

The bull in this week’s image was part of a bachelor herd found up in our “North 40” that is Rocky Mountain National Park. 

While many of the region’s elk famously move into Estes Park and parts lower in elevation once the rut ends, this smaller herd is unique in that they tend to stay up high all year round. This herd was found somewhere between 10-11,000 feet in elevation in the middle of February, and as illustrated by the bull in this image, in robust health.

Elk have been found further north and west living in winter temperatures as low as -40 degrees. Their ability to survive these extreme temperatures is mostly the result of a highly effective winter coat. 

This coat consists of two layers. The outer layer is comprised of a thick layer of dense fur, and the inner layer is made up of thin, porous hair, allowing for tiny pockets of air that trap and hold warmth from the body. 

In extreme temperatures, they will also bristle, or loft, their outer layer, providing more pockets of air with which to trap and retain heat. The Inuit of the arctic use the skins of elk’s cousins, the caribou, for clothing, for exactly these reasons.

Along with food abundance determining an elk’s general survival, the food itself also aids in providing warmth. Its digestion acts as a sort of furnace, generating a hardy supply of warmth from within. 

Wintering elk are often found bedded down on cloudy days, often in the trees and usually on north or east faces to avoid winds. When bedding, they, like other ruminants, will chew their cud, providing a further source of warmth from food already eaten but not yet digested. 

When it is sunny, they will make their way to open, south-facing meadows and bed down to soak up the sun. The bedding itself helps to retain their warmth as they tuck their legs in under their bodies to reduce overall exposure to the elements. This also helps to retain the heat generated by their own bodies. 

Any necessary water intake is provided by eating snow, further reducing their need to move about and lose heat and vital energy–the absolute key to survival in the outdoors no matter how well acclimated.

While seemingly harsh, especially in the face of what we as humans consider deadly, winter living is not nearly as tough as we might think. Given the bare necessities of food, water, and shelter, wildlife generally fare well in the face of this seasonal environmental adversity. 

Personally, I prefer pj’s, a cozy blanket, and a cup of hot cocoa on a couch surrounded by four walls and a blazing woodstove. But to each their own.


For additional information about James DeWalt Photography, check out https://jamesdewaltphotography.com.