This magnificent bull was resting not far from the road, in the late afternoon. We spotted him on September 2, 2012 near the road between Sheepeater Cliff and Mammoth in Yellowstone, and of course immediately noticed the yellow tag in his ear. He turned out to be the "famous" bull elk #10 that others have photographed and written about.
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| Bull Elk #10 in Yellowstone ~ Jean Bjerke photo |
As typically happens in Yellowstone, he had attracted an admiring small crowd, who wisely kept their distance. Park rules require humans to stay at least 25 yards from this massive animal.
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| Bull Elk #10 resting near Blacktail Ponds ~ Randy Bjerke |
Curious whether we could find records of bull elk #10, we found mention of him in Beth Pratt's blog from September 2008, when her pictures showed him to be a beautiful 6x6-point bull. In February 2009 Kurt Repanshek wrote in his National Parks Traveler about the death of another well-known elk, bull elk #6, characterizing these two bulls as having been arch-rivals. In January 2011, artist and sculptor George Bumann photographed bull elk #10 near Blacktail Ponds, and by this time the bull had a beautiful, even seven-point rack of antlers. Bumann wrote "I sure hope that we will get to see him next autumn!" In June 2012, the
Guidebook of Yellowstone Wildlife reported that bull elk #10, "one of the most popular bulls in the park," was spotted near Blacktail Ponds. A google search turned up some beautiful images and several videos of this bull. What a privilege to see him ourselves!
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| Bull Elk #10 - Note perfect 7x7-point rack ~ Jean Bjerke |
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| Bull Elk #10 ~ Jean Bjerke |
Well, he is back! He looks good, well-fed, with his coat in good shape. A beautiful animal, he will no doubt again be one of the dominant males during the elk rut in Yellowstone.
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| Bull Elk #10 ~ Jean Bjerke |
Wondering how he came to be tagged? Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer in Yellowstone National Park, provided this explanation to Elizabeth Laden, editor of the Island Park News: "Several years ago, this particular elk managed to get a badminton net and poles wrapped around his antlers. He had to be darted and immobolized to remove the items. The FDA has concerns over potential impacts the chemical residue may have if humans consume the meat within a certain period of time. Tagging the animal serves as a flag to hunters to check on the history of the animal if harvested."
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| Bull Elk #10 ~ Randy Bjerke |
