The largest mammal of Rocky Mountain National Park is the AMERICAN ELK,
or "wapiti." It is really a big deer--distinctly larger than the local
mule deer and usually with a more reddish or brownish coat. The true
American representative of the Old World elks is the moose, not found in
Rocky Mountain National Park.
American elk were almost exterminated here by ruthless hunting in
prepark days. Seventy animals introduced here in 1913 and 1914 from
Yellowstone National Park made possible the present population of over
600 elk in this park.
During summer, the elk are usually high in the mountains, feeding on the
lush grass of the widespread tundra and the forest glades. Their food
consists mostly of grass, herbs, and twigs of woody plants. The summer
is a short but prosperous time for these animals. Usually by early
autumn, fierce storms in the high country put an end to days of ample
forage, and most of the elk move down into the small meadows at lower
altitudes. In late September, as the mating season begins and the bulls
fight for possession of the herds, large groups of elk can be seen in
such places as Horseshoe Park and Beaver Meadows. This is when the
bugling challenges of the bulls can be heard echoing across the valleys.
In November, this period ends and the more prosaic struggle for survival
on the limited winter range begins.
Formerly, during winter, the elk could scatter well below the present
site of Estes Park village; now they are "bottled up" within the park
meadows, because of the encircling human developments. Or perhaps these
introduced elk and their descendants never developed a more extensive
winter migration pattern, for the more venturesome individuals among
them would have been killed or harried by hunters in the lower country
east of the park. In any case, most of them do not move out of the park.
Times are hard for the elk until spring permits their return to the high
country, where ample feed awaits them. Grave concern is felt by wildlife
experts about the winter food shortages confronting this species.
Without deliberate control by the park rangers, in order to keep the
population at a level that can be supported by the limited and overused
vegetation of the park's winter ranges, the herd itself would face mass
starvation. The absence or near disappearance from this region of some
of the most effective predators of the elk--cougar, wolf, and
grizzly--has removed most of the aboriginal population controls.
Whether you visit the park in summer or winter, you should be able to
see elk--at least with binoculars. In summer (especially in the
evenings) you may see them along Trail Ridge Road, emerging from the
forests below Fall River Pass or the Rock Cut area. The cirque below
Fall River Pass is a good place to look for them with binoculars. From
mid-September until March or April, herds of elk are normally to be seen
in Beaver Meadows, Horseshoe Park, Moraine Park, and in the meadows
north of Grant Lake; but patience and some keenness of observation are
required.
[Illustration: Although elk, especially the bulls, occasionally stay
high in the deep-snow belt, most of them feed in lower meadows
during winter.]
It should be easier to find MULE DEER, a familiar sight in many areas in
early morning or evening, even in midsummer. Hikers encounter them on
the trails throughout the park. When startled, the mule deer takes
flight, characteristically bounding from all four feet at once, making
soaring leaps, and landing with such force that its feet make a drumming
sound. This bouncing but graceful gait has earned it the nickname
"jumping deer" in some areas. It is effective in ascending rocky slopes
and traversing brush country.
The males of all deer, including the American elk, grow antlers
annually. For a short period in late winter and spring they have no
antlers at all, but by June the new growths begin, getting larger and
larger until August, when they attain full size. Until then, the antlers
are "in velvet"--with a soft, hairy covering--which dries up and peels
or is rubbed off. Often the animal helps the removal of the velvet by
rubbing its antlers against the trunks and branches of trees. Many
"rubbing trees" can be seen along the trails. The deer enter the mating
season with polished, full-sized antlers, and these majestic adornments
are worn until the season of shedding. One might expect to see discarded
antlers everywhere; but because they contain much salt and calcium they
are eaten by porcupines and other rodents. Few shed antlers, therefore,
are seen by visitors to the park.
[Illustration: Mule deer are common. The fawns, born in early June,
are spotted when young.]
[Illustration: Male bighorn display the horns that have made them
famous.]
In summer, mule deer are seen singly or in small groups, browsing in the
higher country; like the elk, they descend into the lower meadows in
autumn. They, too, find the winter difficult, because of limited range.
Deer are browsing animals, eating such things as willow, aspen, antelope
bitterbrush, and even pine needles. Much of their natural food has been
overbrowsed, and this condition has helped to make beggars of many of
them. It is not unusual to see them in the streets of Estes Park village
or near the town garbage dump looking for food. June, however, brings
the lush green vegetation on which they regain their strength. That
month also is fawning time. The spotted fawns are usually hidden in the
woods and are nursed twice a day by the mother, who stays nearby but out
of sight. Sometimes well-meaning visitors report an abandoned baby deer.
In most instances, the fawn has not been abandoned; the visitors simply
failed to see the mother in the background. Fawns, which keep their
spots until autumn, run with the mother until the next spring.
The greatest thrill for many park visitors is when a BIGHORN, or
mountain sheep, comes close enough to be photographed; however, those
occasions are rare. Like most large mammals of the West, the bighorn was
on the verge of extinction 40 years ago, but, thanks to various
conservation measures, it is now well established. Formerly, bighorn
were distributed throughout the park and beyond to the foothills. Today,
they are largely restricted, by man's necessary settlement of the land,
to portions of the park remote from man's developments. Most
visitors--when they get to see them at all--spot bighorn on Trail Ridge
Road near Milner Pass (on Specimen Mountain) or in the Mummy Range. They
are seen now and then near Sheep Lake (in Horseshoe Park), usually in
small family groups of ewes and lambs. Successful pictures of them have
been made mostly in this vicinity.