Banff Wildlife – Bull Elk Above Two Jack

I drove along the Lake Minnewanka road last weekend with plans to photograph the sunrise from a bluff above Two Jack Lake that affords a great view of the lake along with Mount Rundle in the background.   Parking at a pullout near my intended spot, I started setting up my gear when I noticed a female elk standing near a tree about 20 metres away.  It was still dark out but I could see her staring at me so we played that game for a few minutes.  It was too dark to shoot and she seemed pretty relaxed so I was happy to just watch her.  Then, I saw some movement behind her and a bull elk stood up and shook the snow off.  She might have been happy to stay there but he wanted to get a bit of separation so they hopped the snow bank onto the road and, after clearing the bank on the far side, climbed the hill to the edge of the forest.  At this point, the light was brightening quickly and by raising the ISO on my camera I was able to take the image above of the bull staring at me from the top of the hill.  I thought they were going to continue into the forest but when I reviewed the picture in the LCD on the camera, I noticed the female’s ears in the lower left corner of the picture and realized she was laying down.

They were in no hurry to disappear so I stayed on the far edge of the road from them and photographed the bull with his amazing antlers.  These are among the best balanced racks that I have seen and one of the largest.  Really impressive and when he licked his chops I had a fleeting image of him using them on me.  That idea didn’t take hold as his body language did not suggest any agitation.  He stayed on this little rise for the time while I was there and the cow got up once but stayed low and mostly out of sight.

I tried not to take it personally when he stuck his tongue out.  It’s a funny look that’s hard not to anthropomorphize a bit.

Even while scratching his leg, the elk kept one eye on me presumably to avoid being surprised by any movements I might make.

Switching lenses for a wider composition you can see the first light colouring the peak of Cascade Mountain above the forest.

I left them just before sunrise as he was turning his attention towards the trees.  I piled my gear back in the car and headed down to the Bow Valley Parkway and, as it turned out, to a pair of wolves.