Please help keep wildlife wild by not feeding or approaching animals. Let them be themselves.
Perhaps the most abundant and visible of the big animals are the elk. In spring and summer they can be seen in small groups of a dozen or more, or in large herds of 100-200. They are seen in larger numbers on the east side of the park, around Estes Park, than on the west. Part of this is due to the fact that the town of Estes Park has grown to the edge of the park and the elk wander through town.
In spring, the cows give birth to their calves - usually single, but occasionally twin births - in the woods. When the calves are about a week old, the cows will bring them out to the meadows to join the herd. If you listen, you can hear the cows and calves "talking" to each other in a high squeal/grunt.
In the fall they provide a spectacular sight as the majestic bulls compete for the favor of the cows during the mating season, or rut. You can hear the "bugling" (really more high pitched and squeal like) of the bulls as they notify all around them that they are ready to defend their harems. If you are really lucky, you might see two of the magnificent bulls dueling for a harem. They will bugle, stand in profile to demonstrate their size and and antlers, then clash antlers. In the actual battle, they push each other, struggling to push the other away. They rarely hurt each other seriously in these battles, as they are not death matches so much as power struggles.
In winter most of the elk move down to lower elevations, where they won't have to fight the deep snows, and can find food. During May and June they return to the Park and the surrounding areas to gather, raise their young, and, incidentally, to provide one of the greatest attractions to Rocky Mountain National Park. Everyone wants to see wildlife when they visit the Park. Elk are among the most spectacular and highly visible of Rocky's wild inhabitants because they are herd animals and can be seen by the score as they graze and browse in open areas and forest edges.
We humans are often tempted to feed animals that look hungry or look like they might want something. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why we should not "help" our animal friends. The most important -- if they become used to getting handouts they stop looking for the foods that keep them healthy. They don't teach their young how to gather the right foods. When the crowds go home, they lose their "meal ticket" and go hungry. Most wild animals' digestive systems are not able to handle human foods well. We cook, season, process, and otherwise change our foods into something far different from grass, bark, leaves and raw meat. An animal may enjoy our foods, but in the long run our foods might as well be poison for them. And our packaging and wrappers can block their digestive systems when they seek out human food from garbage cans or unattended picnic hampers.
Wild animals need to keep their fear of unknown things. When they are fed, or when garbage is available to them, they lose their fear of the human scent. Being too close to an animal puts you in greater danger if something goes wrong -- you're too close to get away from a frightened or angry animal. Some even start association the smell of humans with food and begin to approach people looking for food. Some even become aggresive in their quest for food.
Last updated 01/30/2000. (c)1998-2000 by Deborah Mason