Elk Portraits

Spent some time, yesterday, at the elk feed-grounds just south of Alpine.  The elk are really starting to move onto the grounds now - we have quite a bit of snow.

Historically speaking, this is not normal behavior.  Before the arrival of the white-man, the elk would have kept to the wind-swept slopes during the winter - feeding on the grasses that grew during the summer.  When farming/ranching began, in Star Valley, the elk found the hay stacks to be much easier feeding.  In the 1930's, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department began actively feeding the elk through the winter season.

The feed-grounds are off-limits, to the public, from November 15th through April 30th.