Violent Sex Returns to the Redwoods
Bull Elk in Rut, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (10/1/17) Max Forster
Roosevelt Elk are in rut at Redwood National & State Parks (Orick) where deciduous leaves began changing fast last week, North Coast color spotter Max Forster reports.
The annual elk rut is one of California’s colorful displays in autumn, as massive bull elks challenge one another for the right to mate with herds of female elk cows. Young suitors playfight one another while bloody battles occur between the existing bull of a herd and his rivals.
It’s elk-styled Match.com, but with bugling, violent challenges and fights to exhaustion, as the ladies watch indifferently from afar.
Corkscrew Leaning Maple, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park (10/1/17) Max Forster
Elsewhere in the redwood forest of northwestern California, bigleaf maple that have received full sun began transitioning last week, while the vines and maple that haven’t gotten direct sun have not yet begun to change.
Don’t expect a big showy splash of color, but for the true fan of autumn color, it is gorgeous, as the vines, maple and poison oak show chartreuse, yellow and crimson in rolling displays as sunlight hits them through the tall trees.
Max writes that “Notable sections for big leaf maple over the next week include Lost Man Creek in Redwood National Park and between the Corkscrew Tree and Zig Zag #1 Trail in Prairie Creek State Park.”
Redwood National & State Parks (Sea level to 500′) – Patchy (10-50%)