Robert Chianese took this photo in Stallion Springs of American Elk ambling across the road.
Bob and his wife, Paula, had walked around Horsethief Lake and encountered a bull elk and his harem, a total of 25 cows and older calves.
During the fall breeding season, cow elk have an estrous cycle every 21 days, but they are receptive to a bull elk’s attempts at mating for only about 24 hours, so proximity is vital. A bull elk needs to be in the immediate vicinity of an available cow and take advantage of the opportunity when it arises, otherwise another bull will, and so pass his genes onto a resulting calf.
The main elk in our area now are known as American Elk or Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni), and were brought to the Tehachapi Mountains from around Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1960s.
About 400 were initially translocated, though many died during the process or shortly afterward. The elk were released on the Rex Ellsworth Ranch, which later became the Stallion Springs development, in the hopes of providing future hunting options, and confined with a 640-acre enclosure with high fencing.
A very large old oak tree, or at least a portion of it, fell on a section of the fence during a storm and subsequently released most of the animals. The elk spread out and have lived wild in the Tehachapi Mountains ever since.
Historically there was another subspecies in our area known as Tule Elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes). Nuwä Indian people called these animals parahui (pronounced pah-rah-HOO-ee), which translates as “water deer.” Tule Elk are found in the Wind Wolves Preserve, and have been expanding their range somewhat back into the Tehachapi Mountains.
NATURAL SIGHTINGS is a regular feature of the Tehachapi News edited by Jon Hammond which showcases photos of the natural beauty that enhances the quality of life in Tehachapi. If you have a good quality image of plants, animals, insects, trees, birds, weather phenomena, etc., taken in the Tehachapi area, you may submit it to the Tehachapi News for possible publication. Submissions can be dropped by the News office in the form of a print or CD, or sent by email to: [email protected].