Reader Joe Dickinson sent in some artiodactyls and birds. The individual photos weren’t identified by name except for “elk” and “heron”, but from Joe’s notes I’ve put the pictures in order and hope that they’re correct:
A couple of weeks ago, I sent photos from Northern California, including some of elk (Cervus canadensis). I thought it would be interesting to look at what I had of other subspecies, so here is another shot of the Roosevelt elk (Pacific Northwest, this one at Prairie Creek in California) along with a Tule elk (Central California, this one at Point Reyes National Seashore), two Rocky Mountain elk (from Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Parks, the latter with antlers in the velvet), and, finally, a sambar (Rusa unicolor, from Ranthambhore National Park in India). The sambar is roughly the size of the North American elk and some authorities place it in Cervus.
Note that the Roosevelt, Tule, and Rocky Mountain elks are subspecies of Cervus canadensis.
Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti; Wikipedia says this is North America’s largest elk, and males can weigh up to 600 kg!):
Tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes):
Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni):
Rocky Mountain elk (note that these antlers must be regrown every year, a huge metabolic cost. They also must be toted around on the elk’s head to attract females, all costs of getting a female):
Sambar deer deer (Rusa unicolor):
And again with the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). They just keep posing for me down at Aptos Creek. I love the red iris seen in the closeup. If you look closely, you can see my reflection just above center in the pupil (leaning over a bridge railing). The other shot, with lichen-encrusted branch and reflected leaves, reminds me of a Japanese print.
Nice. I especially like the heron.
Wow, I had no idea. The link below explains briefly why you’re not allowed to take them home (at least in RMNP):
http://estes-park.com/blog/nature-and-wildlife/yes-elk-loose-their-antlers-every-year
That guy is so cute, and kind of embarrassed-looking, with his growing-in antlers:-). ( are they called velvet, or is that just in the young ones?)
Good question. I was curious too and found this (bottom of page):
http://coloradoelkbreeders.com/?page_id=41
Interesting, thanks1 I wonder how much of the health benefits is/are woo?
Sub
That heron is beautiful. I especially love the last pic.
a 600kg animal, eating grass and leaves … that’s helluva lot of grass and leaves, magnificent animals.
Absolutely gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing! Just a note, elk are deer (Cervidae) and therefore have antlers – not horns – the difference being that horns are permanent while antlers are shed and re-grown annually.
I always make that mistake. Fixed, thanks.
The sambar deer is a burnished beauty.
Consider the last photo (heron) pinned (Pinterest) with credit to Joe and this website. And yes, that photo is filled with the tranquility often found in Japanese prints.
Great images, I especially like the Sambar Deer, a species I’d never heard of.
I really enjoyed all the shots! The collection of elk subspecies is most interesting; it’s the Roosevelt Elk subsp. that I remember from Oregon.
I too love night herons, and your shots are beautiful. The last one is indeed a wonderful composition.
Loved all the pictures, especially the first one of the heron, with the reflection in the eye.