Hello..uh?

It was one of those beautiful walks in the woods.   I was following the sounds of elks bugling.   

My education of elk biology came somewhat by the master of Elk-President Gary B.  This man is as big as an elk and knows enough about them that you would  think he is family.  I have been with him twice when he places an instrument in his mouth and proceeds to "talk" to the elk.  He must be calling them names or something because when the elk show up they are not happy.  In fact they are ready to fight.  

The one thing that Gary explained to me was when the elk raises their head, open their mouth and raise their lip, they are smelling the cow.  The cow once a year is ready to mate and produces a sent.  It makes the bulls crazy.  

On this day I wanted to photograph some of this craziness.  Little did I know I was going to round a corner of the trail and be close enough to a six-by-seven bull to pat him on the nose.   He was not happy!  More like dizzy with craziness and anxiety.  

Have you ever been in a situation where you think you might be in a place that is not safe, but the circumstances warranted a stare or pause?   When this behemoth approached I thought where is Gary when I need him?  Then it happened.  The bull raised his head.  Threw back his lip and opened his mouth.  Yikes!  Holy Cow!  What is up with that mouth?   Is there teeth in there?  For a second I thought this thing could not hurt anything.  Wow - the goofiest dental hygiene on the planet.  I'll bet his breath smells somewhat like the sulfur pots nearby.   Here's the rub.  There's no cows around.  The only thing within eye sight that has four appendages used for walking and eating was ME!   Did I have a similar scent as the attractive cow?  Was my appearance appealing to him?  Now my body is shaking from fear.  Just long enough to photograph BULL TONSILS then he bolted.  One of the strangest experiences I have had in the wild.  I plan on sitting with Gary B and letting him explain this one to me.