Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)

Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)

A herd of elk was spotted in the Rocky Mountain National Park on the afternoon of June 11th. There were several elk in the area, but this is the only picture that turned out decent enough to put on here. Elk in the rocky mountains are interesting because of their issues with chronic wasting disease- a transmissible prion disease. You can read more about elk here, and more about prion diseases here, and more about chronic wasting disease here.