September 3, 2009, 4:01 pm
What weighs 1,000 pounds, has 4-foot antlers and can frighten away a competitor with the sound of its voice? It’s an elk! Washington state is home to two elk species, the Roosevelt elk and the Rocky Mountain elk. The Rocky Mountain elk are found in Eastern Washington while the Roosevelt Elk, named for President Theodore Roosevelt, are found in Western Washington.
Late summer and early fall are an exciting time of year as the elk enter into the “rut” or breeding season.
Male elk, called bulls, have been preparing for the rut all year by regrowing their antlers which are shed in early winter. The antler regrowth begins in the late winter and early spring and continues through the summer. As antlers grow, they are covered in a soft tissue called velvet, which provides nourishment that the antlers need to grow. When the growing season comes to an end, the velvet will dry up and fall off, leaving a solid, bone-like calcium and phosphorous antler.
In addition to changes in the antlers, the bull elk also are experiencing chemical changes in their bodies. The male hormone levels in their bodies increase drastically and cause them to be extremely focused on the task at hand and very aggressive toward other bull elk. It is this aggressive behavior that provides the amazing spectacle of the elk rut.
Once the bull elk have entered into the rut, they will try to become the dominant bull and gather a group, or harem, of females. Bulls will aggressively defend their harem through several methods of intimidation. Those methods include rocking their antlers back and forth, false charging and even contact antler sparring. Sparring is one of the more impressive activities to watch during the rut.
