January News

The days are a bit longer. Not much but it’s a little lighter out in the late afternoon. Alpenglow happens around 5:30pm this time of year. January isn’t the snowiest month of the year. Actually some days are quite warm for winter. However, this doesn’t urge the plant life to come out of their dormant state. Elk are forced to nibble on any grasses, aspen bark, willow stems. Big Bull grazing It’s a feeble time of year. Elk won’t move much at all. Usually staying within a mile of a creek valley if they are left undisturbed. They need to conserve as much energy as possible. March is just around the corner but they can’t look that far ahead. They can only nibble, rest and hope spring will arrive wet and green.

Coyote’s will check the herd on a regular basis. While stalking closer to a herd of about 15 bulls I spooked a coyote. He ran off without disturbing the elk. I saw 5 coyotes within a half-mile of those elk. I suspect one bull was nearing the end of his life. His antlers had fallen off already. They say that’s a sign of being sick. Elk antlers don’t normally fall off in the winter. Their hormone levels change during March and April – forcing the bond between their skull and antler to weaken. The new antler follows quickly after the old one has fallen. Coyote’s and other predators can sense or smell a sick or wounded elk. If you are out scouting elk in the winter you’ll surely find fresh coyote tracks in the snow. For a coyote finding a dead elk is a very welcomed sight.

January is a long month. Winter begins to take its toll on everything. Elk are large animals and it takes a lot of forage to keep them going. Despite the poor quality of food this time of year elk will continue to graze. Elk graze from sunrise to around noon. They bed for a while in the afternoon or continue to graze near the herd. Elk will feed again in the afternoon into the evening. They seek out areas near creeks and meadows where food once grew green and nutritious. They find only brown, dry and frozen plants. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a bale of alfalfa hay this time of year! (See our work on the CSER)

Elk avoid deep snow if they can. First, it makes them easier to attack from a predator’s point of view. Second, it wastes energy then need to conserve. Elk will dig through snowdrifts to get at plants. They will also travel along routes with less snow to lower elevation. Snow this time of year is very noisy to step on. It’s crusted over, hard after melting a little then freezing again. Wind can be bad this time of year. Both January and February can be windy months in Colorado. An elk’s thick hide allow them to withstand cold wind. They will head for the trees to further block the wind any time of year.

I observed that herd of 15 bulls for about 4 hours recently. Several Bulls Grazing Despite the conditions the elk would mew to each other and even play. I watched two nice bulls spar with each other. As they wrestled they let out a whining type of mew. It was long and whiny. This is interesting because it teaches us about elk talk. Not many people realize that bulls mew just like a cow elk will. One bull would mew as if he were complaining. Like something we would say if we didn’t want to wrestle - like “cut it out.” The other bull made a similar long mew but not as whiny. During my observation I would test their hearing capability. I set my Primos “Hoochie Mama” call to “lost cow” sound. It only took one or two calls before they would call back. As if to say “we’re over here.” At one point nearly every bull in the herd replied with a mew one right after the other and some overlapping. Inviting me over into the herd. I didn’t go. I stopped my calling instead. Sometimes if elk talk or reply to your calls they “expect” to see an elk. If they don’t see an elk appear they become suspicious. During other times of the year they will respond more abruptly. They might leave quickly and quietly or approach and reply to your sounds. This time of year they were content to continue on their way, unalarmed.