The Bighorns: Animals in the Mist (Elk, Moose)-Part III
It’s weird looking back at these photos from the summer. It looks cool and wet. Exactly what our winter has been lacking: cold and snow. Here’s hoping to a lush, wet summer for 2026! Anyhow…
This was definitely the summer of the elusive elk. They were all over the grass fields in huge herds, males, females, babies, you name it. I couldn’t believe how many opportunities I had to capture them! These are usually the most skittish animals around. If you give them the side eye they run. Rarely do you get to stop and watch them.
This is usually the best shot I can get: their rear ends and them running away.
You can tell their indifference by their casual manner and the need to only pause briefly from their constant munching.
A little farther along we ran across this mother and I thought one baby, playing peek-a-boo with us in the trees.
I was greatly surprised to see three baby elk making their way through the wildflowers!
The fog added another mystical element to the experience.
Later, we ran across this mama moose and her baby walking quickly through the shelter of trees.
Once in the open, the baby needed to run to keep up with mom.
Mom didn’t want to linger too long in the open and they quickly dashed for the safety of the trees.
Later, we almost missed this moose…
Two bucks were hanging out in a field of wildflowers. I was loving the texture of their fur from the rain.
A bouncing Bambi always delights me. They can jump so high and make it look effortless!
After grazing during the early morning hours these two moose decided to take a break.
Later that day we found this herd of elk hanging at the back of a field. It’s amazing when you roll down your window and just listen. There is a constant dialogue going on between them by the means of a ‘chirp.’
Start counting the number of babies…and see if you can find the one nursing.
On the right side of the photo you can see a couple of calves raising their noses to catch the smells wafting around them. They could be trying to pinpoint where their mother is specifically in the herd or even where the tastiest food is located. An elk’s sense of smell is said to be 1000x greater than a humans.
My 2025 summer visit to the Bighorn mountains was a roaring success. Besides have different conditions this year (rain, cold, and fog) I was able to see many types of wildlife: elk, moose, sandhill cranes, deer, and marmots.
