Bulletproof elk can know if you're carrying a bow vs. rifle, then change their behavior accordingly!

[CoRoMo]

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...ly-bulletproof-as-they-learn-to-avoid-hunters

After seven years of studying the movements and behaviours of female elk, University of Alberta researchers discovered they become “virtually bulletproof” as they age.

Never knew elk cows lived past the age of 20!

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...utsmart-hunters-and-tell-apart-their-weapons/

As female elk get older, they also get wiser: they learn how to avoid getting shot by hunters, and appear to adapt their behaviour to the types of weapon the hunters carry.

 

[RPRNY]

Has the Edmonton Journal just signed a new marketing deal with Weatherby ?

 

[jmr40]

There was very little in either study that an experienced hunter couldn't have told them. It just confirms what most of us have known for years. I was surprised to learn that some cows can live 20+ years. But not at all unsurprised that 4-5 years was average for bulls. No game animal or even fish lives very long by hanging around where humans are.

And I've known for years that game animals can tell the difference between hunters and non-hunters in the fields and woods. I hike and backpack a bit. It is nothing to see deer, bear, or elk up close and have them all but ignore me. But hunting in the same areas a few months later and they disappear. Same for farm and ranch workers. Game animals see them working around the farm and ranch all the time and are not alarmed. I've long said the best camo for hunting on a farm was jeans, flannel shirt and a John Deere cap. Show up in traditional camo and they know you ain't the farmer and are there to hunt them.

 

[Patocazador]

Show up in traditional camo and they know you ain't the farmer and are there to hunt them.

My dog can sure tell the difference. If I show up with camo, she sits by the back of the truck waiting to load up.

 

[Art Eatman]

jmr40, it's likely less the clothing of hunters than the difference itself. Generally, prey animals figure that if it's different, it's bad. They're accustomed to farmer/rancher dress and behavior. Different dress + different behavior = Bad! Be elsewhere!

 

[Newtosavage]

It would be a very interesting study to change the way a person who routinely encounters game on foot dresses, and then see how the critters react. There are a few places - both public and private - where a study like that could be done.

 

[FN in MT]

Elk seem to know WHEN the season starts. I've seen hundreds migrate from Public land to Private Ranches that limit hunters or don't allow hunting. Seen them make the move like clockwork over 30 years. They are NOT dumb. LOL.

 

[LoonWulf]

Ive seen similar from deer and turkeys here, walk around with no gun and they stand around watching. Carry a gun and you stand around watching.

This last trip home i had an interesting experience also, i was stuck using my pistol for most of my hunting.
The deer wouldnt run from me like they usually do when they see someone with a rifle. Since i HAD a gun i think they could smell it, but couldnt figgure out why. They stayed just far enough ahead to keep me from getting a clean shot/sight of them.
It made pushing them to the guys with rifles tricky at best.

Last day i had a rifle and the deer acted like im used to them doing and sprinted for cover, or over a ridge at the sight of me, i was also in my sleeping clothes lol.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I hunted the north fork of the Sun River in Montana for about twenty years . You could hunt the east side, but the west side was a protected area. My partner and I could bow hunt all week and usually work it out to where we got on their last nerve on the last day of the hunt and it was not uncommon to see a half dozen herd bulls and their cows crossing the river and moving up the huge ridge in to Gates Park. We had been within 100 yards of them multiple times during the week. Sometimes we could close it to 30 or 40 and get a bull, but usually not.

Contrast to opening day rifle season where within the first 30 minutes virtually every elk makes the 2 or 3 mile trip, busts across the river, and mostly don't come back until the weather forces them.

 

[Grumulkin]

I'm not surprised at all that Elk know what kind of weapon a hunter is carrying. It's a well known fact that a 257 Roberts used to be adequate for Elk hunting. Elk have now evolved to the place where at a minimum, a 300 Weatherby is required to take them reliably.

Also, Elk can probably read signs! If Whitetail Deer can do it I think Elk can read just as well.