Pa Elk .Com

We took this video yesterday while on Winslow Hill in Benezette Pa. The quality of the video is not so great because we were totally not prepared and just happened upon this one while out for a drive. It appears to be a 6X6 but I could not be sure.

At about 46 seconds in the elk lets out a really nice Bugle and started to move down into the woods. I did not stay to catch more than one bugle since I was parked in a pull off and I don’t like staying on the side of the road for long, but I heard him several more times from the viewing area that was about a quarter of a mile from here.

For those who want to hear elk bugling first hand, now is the time to get out there. Right now you can hear them at just about any time during the day and late into the night as they are getting ready for the rut.

When you ask most Pa Elk  pros they will tell you that going up on Winslow Hill in Benezette Pa is a great choice to see mature bull elk. What they don’t know is it is not the best place to go in Benezette. There is a little known location very close to Winslow Hill that few know about and even fewer take the time to visit. Ironically, it is way easier to locate elk there and many people drive right through it without ever knowing there are so many there.

Here are a couple of the elk I saw at my “secret spot” when there were none to be found on Winslow Hill.

This one was way off in the distance standing on the crest of a hill. It was hard to get a good picture because there were a lot of weeds between it and I, plus the bull would not stay still. Read the rest of this entry »

Rule number one of rural living, “Don’t leave stinky garbage on your porch unless you want a bear in your yard!”

In the middle of the day this past weekend my wife spotted this rather large bear in a yard on the way home. Luckily there was a pull off spot just across the street so we pulled over and took a couple quick photos of it tearing through these folk’s trash.

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We were at our camp in Benezette Pa this past weekend (7/31 – 8/02), and as usual we took several trips up to the designated elk viewing areas there. Here are some photos we took while at the Primary viewing area. (The one that has the visitors center, lecture area, benches…. If you are coming from the Benezette Store up Winslow Hill it is the second viewing area you get to and is located on the left hand side of the road.)

In this photo you can see the field off in a distance where you are most likely to see elk from this viewing area. On most days to get a close up look you will need a good set of binoculars or a spotting scope. On the good days you will have elk standing only a few feet away from you in the designated “Human Viewing Area” checking you out just as much as you are checking them out.

This is a photo from the right side of the viewing area looking back away from the lecture pavilion. This is actually only a small part of the actual viewing area where you can stand or sit, but since I had the wrong lens on my camera I could not get a wide shot. In any case there are several benches and picnic tables here  and along the rock wall there are informational plaques as well. All in all it is a good place to come and relax and see some elk.

This is the Visitors Information Center, where (when open) you can speak with a Game Commission officer as well as collect elk pamphlets and fliers and get an up close look at a Pa bull elk by checking out the huge stuffed one they have in there. (See Photo Below!)

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I have received numerous request over the last week regarding how to find Pa elk easily. Most want to know exactly where to go and when. To a certain extent I don’t mind handing out that information, but the old adage, “Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime!” comes to mind.

So instead of simply pointing out exactly where and when you need to be I will give you some basic pointers that I live by when looking for elk. (We are currently working on an exhaustive compilation of the best places to see Pa elk and will release it when its completed. No ETA just yet.)

First, you need know that Elk are really not everywhere in Pa, they are currently only found in certain parts of Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Clinton and Potter counties. From my experience Elk county (big surprise) will give most the best chance to see elk up close since the elk population is pretty high there and there are also several easily accessible elk view areas and state game land trails.
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This time of year my thoughts start to turn towards the upcoming hunting seasons and preparing myself and my gear for the rigors that lay ahead. This is also the same time many people consider entering their names in the drawing for tags for the upcoming Elk season.

This year I really find myself struggling with the thoughts of more Pa Elk being killed and people calling it hunting. Being a life long hunter, I realize the fact that what I do is not animal friendly, but I pride myself in hunting in what I consider an ethical manner. When I think about hunting elk in Pa I can’t help but wonder if it is actually ethical to do so.

My main sticking point is that unlike whitetail, Pa elk are so used to being around people that they don’t know enough to try to hide and protect themselves. With very few exceptions, every encounter I have had with an elk in Pa’s woods ends with either me walking away after having all the time in the world to photograph it from every angle or the elk calmly walking away searching for food as if nothing was disturbing about me being there.

Shooting one of these animals would be no different than going to a deer ranch or high fence farm and picking out your buck, paying the owner, and dropping it from a heated tower blind while sitting in a Lazy Boy! Where is the sport in shooting an animal you could pretty much walk up to and pet?

I just don’t buy that it is good for the herd to have some thinned out. Like 800 elk is somehow  too many and they need to be thinned out.

Maybe I am getting soft, or maybe I just don’t understand the sport in hunting Pa elk, but as it is now I just don’t see it as ethical! What about you? Feel free to share your comments as I value your opinions as well.

For those of you who are avid PA elk watchers, chances are you have also taken a gander at the mural on the side of this barn. It is very common to see elk in this yard, but on this day they seemed to be especially interested in the mural. At one point all three of these bulls were standing side by side staring at it like it meant something to them.

Actually, it does mean something to them. Food is near. Not only do they have green grass to munch on here, there are fruit trees not too far away.

So, if you are out looking for elk and you see this barn you are on the right track!

I was browsing back through some of my old photos and found this cute little guy staring back at me. This is actually one of the very first elk I photographed. This picture was taken roughly 7 years ago while I was out hiking near our camp.

I remember being amazed that this elk, by all accounts, was still a baby; however, he was larger than most of the mature whitetail that I was used to seeing. I also remember wondering how those skinny, knobby kneed legs can hold up those massive animals.

Are elk native to Pa? Well, the answer to this is yes, but. Yes, elk did inhabit Pennsylvania and actually thrived here. But the elk that live here now are not descended from the formerly native elk.
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I found another picture of this huge bull elk that gave a closer look at his awesome rack. Not only is it fantastic because of its size, but the remnants of its velvet just hanging there like it was melting off was really neat as well.

As you can see in the background this bull had captured more than our attention. These folks were part of a long string of people lined up on route 555 to take a look at him. You can completely understand why, but we have to mention that stopping in the road like this is both dangerous to you in the car and rather annoying to those behind you who are trying to get somewhere.

So, when you see an animal like this that you just have to see, find a safe and legal place to pull over to view it. When there is nowhere to pull over and you want to see it, you may just have to be satisfied with seeing it in passing. Stopping or even drastically slowing in a situation where the other drivers are likely to be distracted as well can be a recipe for a good ole fashioned fender bender.