Deer seen by the road today

Kacey

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My mother and stepfather are in town, and wanted to go into the mountains, so we headed up towards Estes Park. Just outside Estes Park, a herd of reindeer were crossing the road, so we (along with a lot of other people) stopped to take some pictures. The pictures I took aren't great, because they were with a camera phone, but they came out pretty clear, if small.
 

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bydand

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Reindeer, or elk? Either one makes for some good steaks, but at least with one you don't have an overweight guy in a red suit knocking on your door PO'ed and carrying a bag of coal.
 

MA-Caver

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From the photos they look more like Elk than anything else. Just FYI... still to see Bull Elk is a treat for anyone. :D
 
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Kacey

Kacey

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I'm not really sure - my mother called them reindeer, and I was just going with it. Either way, it was a decent-sized herd.
 

Cryozombie

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Yeah, it all just looks like road hazards to me.

:D
 

Jade Tigress

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I'm not really sure - my mother called them reindeer, and I was just going with it. Either way, it was a decent-sized herd.

I think reindeer are elk. So...you're covered. :D Pretty cool to see a herd that size.
 

CMS

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Great pictures. Reindeer are caribou. They're much smaller than Elk. Adult male Reindeer/caribou stand only about 43 inches at the shoulder and weigh about 215 lbs. Elk adult males stand 5 feet at the shoulder and weigh about 700 lbs. Both are members of the deer family (cervidae), but are of different genus and species.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/bela/html/rangifer.htm
 

Blindside

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Those are elk, Colorado is very very far from caribou/reindeer ranges. But elk are cool too....

Lamont
 

Drac

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That's a lot a Reindeer, Caribou, Elk...
 

ArmorOfGod

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Very cool thing to share. Thanks!
In my neck of the woods, you see a lot of deer, possum, and armadillos (usually dead on the side of the road), but I have never seen elk.
Those pics look good for a camera phone.

AoG
 

shesulsa

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Note: A herd of elk is a rare find ... an elk is a rare find. Those stories about hunters having a bull elk walk silently behind them within about 10 feet ... are true! They are very intelligent animals and surprisingly quiet ... and HUGE!!!!

I hear they're yummy ... I can't do the big game taste thing.
 

MA-Caver

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Note: A herd of elk is a rare find ... an elk is a rare find. Those stories about hunters having a bull elk walk silently behind them within about 10 feet ... are true! They are very intelligent animals and surprisingly quiet ... and HUGE!!!!

I hear they're yummy ... I can't do the big game taste thing.
They are indeed yummy! Better than Bambi-types. The meat is solid and tender from all that alpine hiking that they do. But I've seen massive herds of elk (cows) in the high Unitas in Utah and around Jackson Hole Wyoming near Yellowstone park.
Once had the privalege to see a small group of bachelor bulls about 500 yards away. Then was told, the last time I went up camping (with Ceicei's son Byron) in the Unitas, a couple of Bulls walked right by our tent bugling. I sleep without my hearing aid so I didn't hear 'em... dang it!
 

Lisa

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My favorite elk story:

I took my then teenage sister in law to see an IMAX movie back many years ago. Part of the movie had a HUGE bull elk crashing through the woods directly at you...

A woman a few seats down from me started exclaiming to her husband "Look at the Moose! Look at the Moose!"

My sister in law looks at me and says "Please tell me you see an elk too"

:D

I have had the luxury of eating moose, elk, bison and deer.

I will take bison over anything, then elk, then moose and then deer.

Deer is only good for kubasas, pepperoni and jerky. :)
 

elder999

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Note: A herd of elk is a rare find ... an elk is a rare find. Those stories about hunters having a bull elk walk silently behind them within about 10 feet ... are true! They are very intelligent animals and surprisingly quiet ... and HUGE!!!!

I hear they're yummy ... I can't do the big game taste thing.

They are yummy-more like beef than venison, and my favorite hunt of the year.

I get to see a herd of elk nearly every day, driving from my house to the lab. It's in the Jemez Mountains, and, this time of year-especially when the snow falls, like now-the elk come down in elevation a bit. In addition to having a few herds that roam the lab (and sometimes the town!) great herds congregate in the Valles Grande, an immense volcanic caldera that is just outside of Los Alamos....sometimes by the thousands....................
...sorry,though, no pictures like Kacey's-nice one, Kacey!
 

elder999

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And that, my friend is why hunters NEED full auto rifles to hunt.

:D

Huh?-a muzzle loader is perfect, and a bow is doable. Why in the world would you even consider a full-auto anything?:confused:

If it's a joke, as a hunter, a firearm enthusiast, as well as a full-on, full-auto junkie;it's not funny.:tantrum:
 

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