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I am planning a Colorado cow elk hunt. The season opens on August 27. Will elk calfs be weaned by this date? If they are orphaned will they survive without the cow? -
They wouldn't open the season that early if calves died without their mothers. Utah opens even earlier. Herd animals have the advantage of following a herd around.
That said, the cows with calves will still be lactating. You'll see them walk away from their calves as they try to suckle, encouraging them to forage.
Elk would still suckle at 10 years old if their mothers let them, as would many mammals.
Heck, I'm almost 40 years old and it feels like my entire life has been one long quest for mammary glands.
I shot a big cow that was traveling with a calf during ML season one year. Bone dry.
I agree with Idyllwild - they'll find a bunch of cows and herd up and be fine.
Absolutely, they can survive! I appreciate your concern though & understand it. It would be tough for me to arrow the calf or the mom with a calf, it's just me though, everyone has to make their own decision. Good Luck to you!
ElkNut1
Ike, I'm nearly 69, and it don't get no better buddy !
Most of the experienced guys I know have always said they will survive.
Over the years, I've killed two young cows, and two older ones. Fortunately, none were lactating.
Best of Luck, Jeff
As others have mentioned the calf will make it on their own that time of year.
Some of the best meat is calf meat or yearlings, still prefer a young cow 2/3yrs old but if a younger one is close enough to the truck or camp I'm not opposed to taking one of them either.
Have you guys shot one with a calf? Nothing like breaking a cow elk down with a calf standing 50 yds away mewing, then you come in the next day and the calf is right there still mewing. Call it nature, but it sucks.
May survive, but having one standing there for a day or two mewing, total predator target, no thanks.
Tradmike, have you considered another option? If a cow and calf present themselves, you could take the calf. It's an easier pack out, the meat is unbeatable, ANY elk with a bow is a trophy, and biologically it's better for elk numbers; it would take the herd a couple years to replace a breeding-age cow, but that calf will be replaced in 6 months by your calf's mother. If you go this route, look close for the two little black dots on the forehead of a calf that indicate a male before you shoot. We want those baby bulls to grow!
+1.
If you want minimal impact on the population, best bet is to take a calf, which statistically speaking only has a 50% chance of making it through til Spring anyway.
And as the guys here have pointed out, a calf Elk is still one VERY big deer!!!
Flip side is that if you want to knock back the numbers, find one of those plump, juicy 2-3 year old cows that are just coming into their prime reproductive years.
One year we jumped a calf bedded near a dead cow elk that obviously died several days earlier. Even with us there, the calf wouldn't leave. Separated from other elk and alone, the survival odds have got to be less making it through the winter. And today with wolves, not a chance.
I've shot plenty of cows, so it's not a question of taking one. But if given the opportunity with enough time to observe, look for a cow without a calf. Just something to consider.
Want to hear something absolutely pitiful though, cross paths with an orphaned calf, they bawl just like a moo cow calf when separated from their mama! Most of the locals I hang with avoid shooting cows with calves. I know they normally survive but we try to avoid shooting them and we having a standing plan of going for the calf instead of the cow, heck it seems for the most part me and my wife try to avoid shooting all elk or at least you would think that looking at our freezer:-(
