Generally, I believe that these people are not local. I have sometimes seen people approaching far too close to the elk as they obviously have no idea of the risks they are running. Unfortunately, not everyone understands just how dangerous elk can be.
Now, you may think, no one would be foolish enough to approach so closely to elk that they would be in danger of coming under attack, much less of losing any eye. At all times the elk should be respected and left alone, but it is particularly important at this time of year as this is the season of peak danger. The male elk begin sparring to determine who is the strongest. If they want to procure a harem of females and be successful in breeding, they have to vanquish their rivals. At this time their hormones are running wild and their behavior can become unpredictable. The maturation of the antlers coincides with the start of rutting season, which lasts from August until early winter. Carrying that much weight around on their heads must surely induce neck ache! I cannot help thinking that sporting such racks must surely be a strain. At this time of year, whenever I look at their stately demeanor with heads aloft as they stride slowly and majestically across the countryside, it makes me think of royalty bearing enormous crowns. Those of us who are fortunate enough to see the elk regularly will have noticed that, over the summer, the antlers spread like the branches of a tree until, finally, they reach their impressive zenith. At this time the velvet is in tatters and the elk can be seen rubbing their antlers on the branches of trees in order to remove it.
#Female elk antlers skin#
(The mating season for animals such as the elk, who are members of the deer family, is known as the "rut" or "rutting season.") Antlers are actually bone and can grow at an extraordinary rate of up to almost an inch a day! While growing, they are covered with a layer of highly vascularized skin known as "velvet." Once the antlers are fully developed, the velvet is shed. The antlers start to grow in the spring and are shed in the winter, after the mating season is over. Many of us are aware that both male and female reindeer grow antlers but, in the case of elk, only the males grow antlers. So, close proximity to antlers can be injurious to health. A significant percentage of the people who work with and handle reindeer regularly have only one eye – the other having been lost in an accident involving antlers. Although semi-domesticated, and they are even milked in some cases, this does not mean that reindeer are "safe" to be around.
They are a huge part of the way of life of certain circumpolar peoples.
Reindeer are, generally, much smaller than elk and many are semi-domesticated. Now, why in an article about elk, would I mention reindeer? The answer to that question is, to introduce the idea of how dangerous these animals can be. What do reindeer and elk have in common? Antlers.
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