{"id":103661,"date":"2022-06-27T03:05:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T09:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=103661"},"modified":"2022-09-05T03:28:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T09:28:35","slug":"two-cow-elk-grazing-in-the-wasatch-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/27\/two-cow-elk-grazing-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Cow Elk Grazing In The Wasatch Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CowCow Elk grazing in the Wasatch Mountains \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday morning I was treated to seeing and photographing two cow Elk grazing on a grass and shrub covered hillside in the Wasatch Mountains. I was definitely in need of a nature fix and these cow Elk provided me with my first mammal photos of the day.<\/p>\n

\"CowCow Elk looking at me, looking at her \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This Elk had a sleek summer coat that looked gorgeous in the morning light. The cow Elk certainly kept an eye on me as she grazed on the grasses on the mountain hillside. That suited me just fine because I wanted eye contact with her in my images.<\/p>\n

\"CowCow Elk eating grass on a hillside \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The other cow Elk’s coat wasn’t nearly as sleek as the first cow’s coat. Maybe she hasn’t finished shedding her winter coat yet?<\/p>\n

I still focused on here as she moved around on the hillside grazing on the fresh green grasses and forbs. She still looked beautiful to me.<\/p>\n

I’ve been seeing more Elk this year in this location than I have in previous years and I am not sure why that is happening. I’m not complaining, it is just different.<\/p>\n

\"CowCow Elk on a mountain hillside \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Both cow Elk made their way into a stand of Quaking Aspens before I lost sight of them. I enjoyed having them in my viewfinder and appreciate that my presence in my Jeep didn’t startle them.<\/p>\n

On a side note, I’ve been seeing long-distance cow and calf nurseries in the mountains. Three times I have seen Mule Deer does approach the nursery groups of Elk<\/span><\/a> and each of those three times watched through my lens as the cow Elk advanced on the Mule Deer does and essentially chased them off. Perhaps they only exhibit this kind of behavior when they have young calves. I’ve never seen that behavior prior to this year and I find the behavior quite interesting.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Elk photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday morning I was treated to seeing and photographing two cow Elk grazing on a grass and shrub covered hillside in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":103648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[230,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,3940,6003,4442,4286,4028,4070,3747,4109,4352,751,6865,1632,4069,2817,4057,6607,2315],"class_list":["post-103661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elk","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-canyon","tag-cervus-canadensis","tag-cow","tag-eating","tag-elk","tag-female","tag-grass","tag-grasses","tag-grazing","tag-hillside","tag-looking","tag-mammals","tag-mountains","tag-sage","tag-sagebrush","tag-shrubs","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/elk-cow-summer-mountains-mia-mcpherson-1349.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-qXX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101937,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/27\/shedding-elk-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":103661,"position":0},"title":"Shedding Elk High In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was pretty excited to spot a small herd of cow and yearling Elk grazing on a steep slope in a canyon high in the Wasatch Mountains this past Sunday.","rel":"","context":"In "Elk"","block_context":{"text":"Elk","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/elk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shedding Elk grazing in the Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/elk-mountains-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-8454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/elk-mountains-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-8454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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