Field Notes of the Tule Elk herd in their Habitat:
Native California elk at Tomales Point, Point Reyes, California --
Native California elk at Tomales Point, Point Reyes, California --
- Wildlife photos with photographer's notes.
Copyright © Peter Neibert
Coyotes are around: perhaps because they tend to hunt in packs they
pose a more worrisome threat than a solitary bobcat, so it seems the elk
do not let coyotes get very close. Overall, coyotes' distinctly
un-photogenic presence keeps them low on the wildlife photographer's
priority list -- and the same is true on Tomales Point i.e., do you want to
spend your time following a fourteen point bull elk in the morning sun
or seek out a gray-on-gray, dog-sized scavenger in the weeds?
pose a more worrisome threat than a solitary bobcat, so it seems the elk
do not let coyotes get very close. Overall, coyotes' distinctly
un-photogenic presence keeps them low on the wildlife photographer's
priority list -- and the same is true on Tomales Point i.e., do you want to
spend your time following a fourteen point bull elk in the morning sun
or seek out a gray-on-gray, dog-sized scavenger in the weeds?
Click on photos to enlarge view.
Click on photos to enlarge view.
6. Birds over White Gulch, raptors and transients: red tailed hawks and
harriers, osprey, at least one great blue heron, turkey vultures,
cormorants and assorted gulls.
harriers, osprey, at least one great blue heron, turkey vultures,
cormorants and assorted gulls.
7. The elephant on Tomales Point -- Not Elephant Seal Rock, photogenic
though it may be.
The elephant is the difficult reality that the Tomales Point elk population
now hovers about the carrying capacity of the land. If the herd continues
to grow, evidence of over-population will come into the view of the camera.
Click here for short abstract of US Geological Survey report "Population
dynamics of tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, California."
though it may be.
The elephant is the difficult reality that the Tomales Point elk population
now hovers about the carrying capacity of the land. If the herd continues
to grow, evidence of over-population will come into the view of the camera.
Click here for short abstract of US Geological Survey report "Population
dynamics of tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore, California."
5. Horses, dogs and llamas, mountain lions and deer, bobcats, skunks
and small critters.
Horses are permitted on the Point trail; you may see them with their
riders. Usually these infrequent sightings offer no particular photo
opportunity, unless it's your horse.
Park regulations prohibit dogs and llamas. This is strictly observed -- I
have never seen a llama on Tomales Point, and people who value their
dogs don't bring them into elk territory. In my experience, dogs do not
add much value as photographer's assistant.
At the Pierce Ranch trailhead observe critically the mountain lion
warning sign. So, where are the mountain lions? Truth be told, Marin
County mountain lions have settled on a diet of black tailed deer (aka
mule deer) and deer are fenced out of the tule elk preserve. No black
tailed deer, no mountain lions. So what's the point of the warning
sign? Well, it creates a romantic sense of danger in the wilderness --
attracts more visitors to the Park, and encourages them to stay on the
trail so they don't spook the elk.
and small critters.
Horses are permitted on the Point trail; you may see them with their
riders. Usually these infrequent sightings offer no particular photo
opportunity, unless it's your horse.
Park regulations prohibit dogs and llamas. This is strictly observed -- I
have never seen a llama on Tomales Point, and people who value their
dogs don't bring them into elk territory. In my experience, dogs do not
add much value as photographer's assistant.
At the Pierce Ranch trailhead observe critically the mountain lion
warning sign. So, where are the mountain lions? Truth be told, Marin
County mountain lions have settled on a diet of black tailed deer (aka
mule deer) and deer are fenced out of the tule elk preserve. No black
tailed deer, no mountain lions. So what's the point of the warning
sign? Well, it creates a romantic sense of danger in the wilderness --
attracts more visitors to the Park, and encourages them to stay on the
trail so they don't spook the elk.
tripod in the twilight, creating the profile of a deer. Mountain lions' eyesight is
notoriously poor, so when one of these near-sighted predators ate him -- so there
is no photographic evidence of the event.
happened upon the scene, it mistook the photographer for a deer, pounced
on his back, bit through his neck severing his spinal cord in a trice, and then ate
him -- so there is no photographic evidence of the event.
notoriously poor, so when one of these near-sighted predators ate him -- so there
is no photographic evidence of the event.
happened upon the scene, it mistook the photographer for a deer, pounced
on his back, bit through his neck severing his spinal cord in a trice, and then ate
him -- so there is no photographic evidence of the event.
- Is this a true story? Well, truly, it's a story.
