Lived in this neighborhood since summer 2018. Unlike the previous summers and fall, it seems the Elk seem to be catching the breeding itch early.
We live off of a former Golf Course in an area surrounded by mountains. The elk have been down in the neighborhood for the last two weeks..

normally you can see them wandering around the area early in the morning or just before dark. however the last two weeks, they have been out in the open from as early as 10 AM, and wandering around thru 2 to 3 in the afternoon.

any time I've been outside, you can hear them bugling, and at times you see one doing so, they are within a 100 yds or so from the house.
Properties are from 1.5 acres to 10 acres in the area.

Seems each of the 5 big bulls in the herd, are each having 10 to 12 cows on average following them around, while the younger bulls are chasing the smaller herd around and trying to sneak in and get some nooky from one of the cows... but the big bull chases them off...

Just really cool to be able to see all of this close up. Walked out the front door yesterday morning and had a 6 x 6 bull just staring at me with a " where did you come from" look on his face....

Their presence has certainly chased the deer off, especially the bucks.. at least until it gets dark, but they are staying away from where ever the bulls are. Been taking tons of pictures, and would post some if I could figure out how to do so on the campfire...but haven't been able to figure that out.

Even tonight, I was out cleaning up my reloading area until 12:30 AM, and heard a big bugle, real close. Walked out side and was looking face to face with a 5 x 5 about 25 to 30 yds in front of me....when you are expecting nothing and then see about a thousand pounds looking back at you, got admit, it makes ya jump a little.

it is deer season right now.. next week it will be elk season.. I'm sure the elk know that and will disappear into thin air like they normally do...

living this close to game all over the neighborhood, they sure are pretty darn smart for just being "dumb animals"....

The geese haven't shown up yet, but the turkeys sure are filling up the neighborhood.

The rut here starts about Labor Day. It's winding down now.

Elk breed the same every year regardless of the moon phases and weather anomalies. The gestation period for elk is the same every year and the calves are born in the same time in the spring.

How we perceive elk breeding has nothing to do with Mother Nature…

For sure!

Remember, you don’t want to act like a Yellowstone tourist and get too close. 😊

The rut timing is controlled by day length, not the moon or the weather. As the day length approaches the fall equinox, the hormones start flowing. It's all built into the pituitary gland.