Elk and cattle? Yes or no

[FlyGuy]

If you are finding fresh sign, there are elk there. I prefer to not have the cattle around and believe the elk prefer that also, but ive been into elk with cattle close by. Sheep are another story.

Never hunted around sheep. Are they bad news?

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[2blade]

years ago in Nv there was a coupled hundred sheep grazing on a hillside and about 100 yards above was a bull feeding away like they weren't even there.

I have a couple spots were I've hung cams a few yrs in a row. Lots a pics of elk until the cows show up, after about a week no more, the elk are gone.

 

[LaGriz]

"Cattle and elk have no problem with each other. However, I will say that the cattle WILL give your presence away."

I found this to be the case in 2012 on a LE archery hunt in Colorado's Unit 61. The cattle were everywhere in overwhelming numbers. This unit is also known as the "Oak Brush Capital of the world". The combination coupled with my lame ass, meant I could not figure out how to move on the elk with out a stampede. More than once the cows would sound the alarm and I would blow yet another stalk. I also learned that the elk don't always spook when the cattle reacts. On two occasions I had silent approaches by young bulls just after a undesirable confrontation with cattle. Maybe the cattle's reaction caused the elk to become curious? Same situation was true at the water holes I chose to watch. I feel much better when I find water and/or wallows with elk sign and no sign of any domestic cows.

LaGriz

 

[OZapo]

Well now I have been worrying about some stupid cow wondering into my camp and trampling my tent.

That exact thing happened to me in Colorado 2014. Left in the morning to do some scouting and came back to a flattened tent!!! This was 2nd season and ranchers were late in getting the cattle off the federal lands. Opening morning they were riding horses and ATV's all over some of the areas we thought we would find elk. Needless to say we had to find a new location.

During that hunt we saw very little elk sign in the area, could have been because of the cattle or the logging operations on the other side of the Mt.

 

[jmez]

A lot of cattle grazing where we hunt in MT. A lot of elk as well. Neither one pays much attention to the other.

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

I just came back from a 3 day outing in my unit. I've been scouting this area all summer and every time I'm in there I find elk. Well I go in there and find several hundred cattle throughout the basin and no sign of elk in 3 days of hard hunting. I dropped into nasty stuff and climbed many ridges and found zero fresh elk sign. Cows were at every watering hole I knew of, came to my camp, followed me through dense areas, and just simply overtook the whole basin. Pretty sure the elk left the basin and moved over to another drainage where there was no competition for forage and water. I think if elk have the option to move away from cattle to similar grazing and water they will. Too bad those other drainages were too far for me to pack one out on my own.


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[DenverCountryBoy]

It must depend on how hard they let the cattle graze an area. Drove out to scout an area yesterday. There was a few dozen cattle near where I stopped. I was sitting in the truck study the map before hiking and a couple minutes later hear a cow elk and calf nearby.

The spot I was in the night before was a different story. I hiked in at dusk. What looked like prime elk grazing had almost no sign. I found out why the next morning when the freakin sheep started bleating the heads of across the draw. Crossed that spot off the list.

 

[307]

In my experience, elk and cattle don't mix. The elk will leave.