This Big Elk Bull Crosses the River to Join Cows and the beginning of the Elk Rut. Could He be the Sheriff's Son?

This Elk Bull is the Biggest fella witnessed so far this Rut, limping with a tough injury after a possible early territory battle, as he moves in to the Sheriff's old claim. He was a Ruling Bull last year, and with full muscle bellies He is very healthy outside of this injury. His presence is awesome and He is obviously ahead of the pack this Elk Rut. Hopefully, he heals quickly and lives to his fullest potential.

This Elk Bull kicks off the Elk Rut with Herding Behavior very early. We often witness younger Bulls exercise their Rutting behavior early like this, before the Huge Bulls move in and take over the herds. This Elk Bull even tried a bit of a bugle as things are just beginning to ramp up.

Giant Elk Bulls like this are pretty Epic to witness in Nature. It was Dark, but this Huge Elk Bull Crossing Our Path Almost Ready for the Elk Rut was an Awesome sight!

These two Elk Bulls have moved quite a distance over the last week as the Elk Rut nears. This lake bed is usually muddy, but because of lower water levels, it has greened up, offering the Elk Bulls a safe space where they can relax just before the Rut kicks in. You can also see we have smoke obscuring our view of the Mountain Ranges here on this otherwise beautiful evening.

Huge Elk Bulls can reach up to 1000lbs just before the Rut, and this area of Canada's Rockies has some of the Biggest. Clearly, this Alpha Elk Bull will be one of the dominant Bulls of this area during the Elk Rut, and he will grow some yet! He is getting lots of nourishment from the grasses and forbs right now and Big Elk Bulls like this grow sets of antlers that can weigh more than 40 pounds. The Velvet on this Bull's antlers will shed in a couple or few weeks and His testosterone will climb fast, altering both his physicality and his temperament. Right now, Elk Bulls are relatively docile, but in a few weeks they will be very aggressive as the Rut Kicks in.

The Elk Rut is almost upon us! Some of the Biggest Elk Bulls in North America will be Bugling, Battling, Herding and Courting during the most exciting time of Year for Elk Populations. The elk rut season is from late August through October, with some breeding activity continuing into November. Male elk, or elk bulls, are much more aggressive during this time. The peak of the elk rut season is when the most elk breeding activity occurs. During the elk rut season, there is lots of bugling, cow elk communication, and elk movement. During elk rutting season, bull elk may attack anything that comes close to them or their mates, which provides protection for the herd.

The Sheriff, this areas largest Elk Bull has shed his antlers a couple days earlier than last year. Every Year he seems to shed his antlers earlier as larger Bulls do to get a jump start on growth for the following Rutting Season. It will be incredible to witness this genetically gifted icon entering another Rut this coming Fall!

The most magnificent Elk Bull we have witnessed in nature, the "Sheriff" looks his best here early in the rutting season. Whether herding cows, battling other elk bulls, or chasing bears up trees, this huge Elk Bull has a commanding presence that has dominated for many years. He will be shedding very soon in preparation for another upcoming Rutting Season this Fall. The Sheriff has educated so many and done so much for Wildlife. We Tip our Hats to You Big Fella!

This Elk Bull has moved up in the Rut Season rankings as a force to be reckoned with for over 5 years now. Standing out in a crowd, his incredible genetics will soon be seen everywhere. He has been one of the earliest Bulls to form harems the last few years and now asserts himself over quite a large range.. coming into the Sheriff's territory for much of this past Rut. Here are some not previously shared moments of him during the Elk Rut as well as some peaceful moments of Him today, looking great.

A high ratio of Big Elk Bulls to Cows in a tight area of Nature at the height of the Elk Rut. Elk Bulls came out of everywhere in this short period, and the dynamics were amazing to witness. The Sheriff still had no problem asserting his dominance among all these incredible Bulls, but there were many successes between other Bulls and Cows as well. A lot of energy expenditure on the formation and protection of small herds, both along and in Athabasca River. These couple days were not only filled with fighting, bugling, herding and mating, but also some elk rut behaviors not previously witnessed. We left all the original sound in which offers listening to the intensity of all that we could see, but also that we could only hear. Much of this elk rut footage includes hand held digital zoom at dusk.. thank you for your patience with that.

The Sheriff brings his Cows to a beautiful Lake During an evening of the Elk Rut. Here, the largest Elk Bull in this area fends off another Bull, Bear, and stress in an amazing Canadian Rockies setting.

The Sheriff(largest elk bull) faces another gifted elk bull's challenge. You can see there are several other magnificent bulls sharing this space tonight, but this was the only bull that was attempting to take on the Sheriff. Just two days ago, the Sheriff was in a fight in which he broke a tine and received several cuts on his shoulders and neck. It was suspected that this Bull inflicted this damage, but now we can't be certain. It is possible that this could be "round 2", however. These posturing displays are typical when Elk Bulls are measuring each other up, usually just before a battle ensues. When the challenger charges, the Sheriff doesn't flinch.. which must have been what changed the tide. It also may add to the possibility that this was indeed round 2, as the challenger was quite confident up until that point.

A Magnificent Elk Bull shining with energy during this year's Elk Rut. Various elk rut season behaviors can been seen here as he pursues cows, bugles, rubs trees and travels lakeside in a few beautiful locations.