Elk and Rivers
When my uncle told me that he saw a bull elk swim across the Snake River while Fly fishing after filling his 2007 elk tag, I didn’t believe it. But with close examination in the center of the photo he snapped on the left, you can see the vague tan shape of an elk stepping out of the river.
Tom Sorensen wrote of a similar incident in his post “Elk on a Fly”. I guess that goes to show that elk are where you find ‘em…
It also brought to mind the image of two elk who were sillhouetted by the flames of a fire on the Bitterroot river in 2000. The caption accompanying it reads:
A pair of cow elk take shelter in the East Fork of the Bitterroot River near Sula Aug. 6, 2000. The photo was taken with a digital camera by John McColgan, a fire behavior analyst with the Alaska Fire Service, and it quickly became the image of the 2000 fire season in Montana.
Awesome – thanks for the link!
I may have to start walking the river beds for my next elk hunt. It seems more than any other animal, that elk will just pop up in the most non-traditional spot if that makes any sense. I’ve heard they are quite good swimmers…which is odd because you’d think those cloven hooves wouldn’t do much for pushing water. But then you think about a caribou…well, they sure don’t have a problem with swimming! Awesome photos, both of them.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm