When do elk breed? Would region effect the time of year. Would non-native elk herds in South Texas breed in the same season as in the Rockys?

Perry

Around here the peak of the rut is approximately the third week of September. Seems to me they are basically the same throughout their range, give or take a few days.

Canuck

I have found elk rutting from early Sep. into mid Oct. Generally the weather seems to be the biggest factor in starting or ending the rut. However regardless of the temperature the rut always happens eventually. For some reason it seems to be really hot the week after bow season is over.

quote:

Originally posted by perry:
When do elk breed?

when they are horny....

OH GEEZ, sorry I couldn't help myself.

Answer: Sept.

There is the rut and a secondary rut, based on the estrus cycle.......cows that do not get bred on the first heat come into heat a second time. The rut and the estrus cycles are determined by the length of the daylight hours. The temperatures and weather conditions play a factor in the intensity of the rut but it still takes place at the same time in the respective areas.

Like deer, cow elk seem to come into estrus earlier the further north you go and later in the south. While mid-September might be a hot and heavy time around, say Banff in Alberta, I've been to Rocky Mountain Park in Colorado several times during the Columbus Day holiday (second week of October) and the elk are clearly still breeding at that time. I wouldn't be surprised if ranch elk in South Texas were still breeding as late as the deer, meaning perhaps December or later. It all depends on when all of the available cows are serviced.

When animals are confined and semi-domesticated their natural breeding habits tend to be altered. I wouldn't be surprised to see ranch elk breeding any time that the bulls have antlers.

Speaking of antlers. When does a elk mature? At what age are the bulls antlers at thier peak? smoker1