The Elk take to the Hills

Yesterday, the Elk Group investigated a hillside on Blacktail Butte to learn about the social-ecological system that encompasses the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the actions of its adjacent civilization.

We bushwhacked up the butte and located a vacated wolf den that the Gros Ventre pack moved on from in late 2015. Oliver S. took a deep dive to see what laid inside. Later, Ari noticed a bone protruding from the snow. Investigating further, she pulled from the snow a fully-articulated elk leg. The rest of the group went to work locating further bits of the carcass, and soon we were able to re-build the skeleton of a recently killed elk calf.

Later that evening, the elk returned to the field in the hopes of hearing their namesakes bugle for mates in the evening darkness. The actual elk did not reveal themselves in the soundscape of this ecosystem, but we did see a small herd of cow elk en route to the meadow.

The students maintained great spirits in the face of frigid temperatures, wet boots and snowy weather. Hopefully today the Tetons themselves are revealed as the weather takes a turn for the better.

-Matt Erdosy