A bull elk native to the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is capturing the attention of hunters and non-hunters from around the globe. For the past four winters, he has attracted visitors to the refuge hoping for a glimpse at his exceptionally broad antlers adorning six points on the right and seven points on the left.
As one can imagine, the large bull is quite elusive, leaving biologists and visitors curious as to where he spends his time during the summer months.
“We have no idea where he summers,” refuge manager Steve Kallin told WyoFile.
Refuge workers set out in an attempt to collect the magnificent beasts shed antlers and were successful in 2013 as part the annual spring antler roundup. Those antlers, now toted as the “largest antler sheds anyone can remember found on the refuge,” were shared, rather than sold. They are now a part of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Great Elk Tour and were surgically mounted on another elks head, netting a total Boone and Crockett score of 436 7/8 gross non-typical inches.
In the spring of 2015 another set of antlers were recovered, but were lacking the picturesque drop tine so prominent from sightings of the elks and the sheds recovered in 2013. While most believe these to be the antlers from the same elk, biologists remain unsure, as much of the evidence remains somewhat inconclusive.
H/T: WyoFile
Image: Steve Kallin/National Elk Refuge/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service