Elk Calf, Knobby Knees, Wyoming

(Click image to enlarge)

It's June and this elk calf has matured enough to follow its mother. Newborn calves are not able to follow so they often lay camouflaged and motionless while the mother feeds nearby. Mother elk watch over their young but avoid being too close for too long so the location of their young is not disclosed. Newborns have no scent so predators like grizzly bears and wolves have difficulty finding calves. That does not keep them from trying and frequently succeeding. When a calf is found the mother will come running and try to distract the predator. That tactic seldom works and the predator will make a meal of the young calf. The mother typically stays around for quite a while, pacing and returning over and over again to the place where her calf died, and literally crying for her calf. We have seen this happen on several occasions and it's always a sad thing. On the other hand bears and wolves also have cubs at this time of year, and they need to eat too. It's the circle of life that moves all living things, except humans. Our superior intellect removes us from the food chain but we are still too stupid to limit our own numbers by other means, thereby threatening all life on the planet including our own.