What elk do on a Saturday morning in RMNP...

I often say that during the elk rut in RMNP,  it is like being in a zoo with all the gates open.  Elk are running around -- bulls chasing other bulls and cows.  Elk calves are trying to stay out of the way but visitors and photographers rush into the middle of the scene.  So, when we got to Moraine Park at 6:45am, I thought we were going to witness a goring instead of the rut.  I was so thankful for my long lens!  Everyone else was watching 3 -5 bulls chase and spar, but further up the hill I was able to watch what it is really all about.  The moral of the story is that sometimes it takes a few tries, and it is very much a mutual activity!  This set of  pictures show the 4 times that the bull mounted the cow and the two times that she mounted him!  At the end, both of them were exhausted!  While I was impressed that other bulls didn't try to interrupt the action, it didn't mean that they were completely alone.  Ah, the life of an elk.  Now, in about 8.5 months we should see the little fruit of this couple's labor! (All pictures are in chronological order and you can click on the images to see a larger version).