Broken Antlers

After the elk rut

A herd of roughly 50 elk wandered into the meadow and right up around the house the other day. With this close vantage point, we could see the evidence that the seasonal rut was largely over.

Much closer and we could reach over the railing and pet them!

Left: Bull Elk in full testosterone-fueled bulk. Right: near the end of the rut, testosterone levels are dropping.

• There was general peace in the pack as the whole herd milled about each other unconcerned about being challenged.

• The calves and juvenile, not-breeding-yet males were back among the herd.

• The bulls had lost much of their testosterone-fueled, bulked-up weight of the early rut.

The final clue that the rut was over was the battle scars and broken antlers.

Broken antlers and battle scars. (Click on pictures for full view.)

As I wrote about previously, the elk rut is a wild time for the bull elk. Hopped up on testosterone, they are more than a bit out of their heads. They are so focused that they forgo eating for up to 70 days, losing about 20% of their body weight while expending a great deal of energy in fighting for dominance, and the right to mate. These fights take their toll on the bull elk in injuries, often 40-60 punctures and abrasions, and broken antlers. Sometimes the battles are to the death.

Antlers, made of bone and regrown each year, will drop off once the rut ends and testosterone levels begin to drop. The connection holding the antler, the pedicle, weakens, and, by the end of March, the antler will fall off on its own. Any broken antlers before that point are mainly the result of fighting.

The elk in this video were only half-heartedly sparring. They would often stop, look around, munch a bit, and then launch back into sparring.

The herd will stay together through the winter, protecting the pregnant cow elk (females) and allowing the bulls (males) to regain their weight and strength in a peaceful season.

The antler growth begins again in the early Spring shortly after the previous antlers have been shed, and the cycle continues.

You can find The Abert Essays, along with my Encounters posts, on my social media sites, Facebook and Instagram: https://linktr.ee/abertessays

Sources: 

- https://www.tetonscience.org/why-do-bull-elk-shed-their-antlers-each-year/

- https://www.clawantlerhide.com/elk-antlers

- https://www.rmef.org/elk-network/bulls-go-rut/