Animals of Yellowstone - Elk

Our first animal sighting in Yellowstone was elk. The place where they are sighted on a regular basis is along the south side of the east entrance road in a field beside the Madison River shortly before you reach the Loop Road. There were elk there almost every day in the morning as we drove in and in the evening as we returned to our cabin. The problem was that cars would slow down or stop in the middle of road to take pictures from their car rather than pulling over. In the evening, this sometimes resulted in long delays up to a half an hour or more to get past the elk.

Elk in field by Madison River
Cervus canadensis

Typical view of elk with head down in the grass eating

Finally an elk lifts its head out of the grass

The elk are totally oblivious to humans. As we drove through Mammoth Springs, there was a small herd of elk sitting in a grassy field right next to buildings and parked cars. As we drove out of Mammoth Springs, there was a male elk with a HUGE rack of antlers that I would have loved to photograph, but I had to keep both hands on the wheel so I missed the shot.

Small herd of elk in town of Mammoth Springs

Elk calf in grass at Mammoth Springs

Male elk with modest rack in Mammoth Springs

You never knew when an elk was going to cross the road. This one sauntered across knowing he had the right of way.

Large male elk crossing the road in front of my car

I had to add this photo of an elk with a 12 point rack.

Male elk with a 12 point rack