Driving to the coast the other day (20 October 2025), I was a little surprised to see a large Elk (Cervus canadensis) fairly close to the side of the road. We pulled over to take a photo for the record.
I had a vague recollection that an elk had been spotted in western Sonoma County before, so I contacted Brock at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center for an update. He confirmed that a male Elk has been observed off and on in this area for 6-7 years now. (It also looks like it's possible a few others have been spotted in West County.)
With many thanks to Brock for keeping track of and confirming some of the local elk history!
Such a gorgeous creature! Do you think it originated with the Point Reyes Tule Elk herds?
ReplyDeleteHi!
DeleteThere are also Elk to the north, so I don't know if there's a way to identify the origin. I remember that Tule Elk (the subspecies on Point Reyes) are smaller than Roosevelt Elk, but I don't know if there are other characteristics that could be useful?
P.S. If anyone is interested, CDFW has a website for reporting Elk observations:
https://cdfw.maps.arcgis.com/apps/CrowdsourceReporter/index.html?appid=70fc2a0613884088b8f91698df6a4c2f
Awesome. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to take moment and tell you how much I appreciate your site. I turn to it time and again for peace & tranquility online, education for myself and my kids, and to be inspired by nature-based blogging. You have consistently provided these resources to myself and others - and it's so appreciated! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I really appreciate knowing how different folks are interacting with the NHBH, so thank you for taking the time to send along your thoughtful comment...and for inspiring me to keep going!
Delete:) Jackie