Killed a cow elk today September 27th with a fully developed fetus

[LostWapiti]

Anybody ever seen an elk at this time of year with a fetus? I couldn’t believe it, I wonder if this calf would ever be born alive? If it was I assume it had no chance of surviving winter.

 

[Brontosaurus]

That is shocking.
Looks like it was just about there. I dont think it would have made it.

 

[Bugger]

That’s crazy. It would have been a short tough life for that calf.

 

[Jbehredt]

How the?

 

[stumblinhorse]

Holy moly! I am sorry that happened to you. That would be tough for me. Is it Nevada? Maybe strange 4th estrus in January happens in NV?

 

[taskswap]

That's wild. Gestation is like 240-270 day. If the rut was ~9/15 last year that calf should have been born in May.

 

[justin davis]

Probably just gonna be born late. Guessing the cow was bred real late?

Last year I saw a cow all by herself up near timberline. Saw her a few days in a row and thought it was odd she was by herself. Then one day I saw a wobbly tiny calf come out of the trees with her. This was mid September.

If elk or deer aren’t bred during the normal rut they will come back into cycle later.

 

[LostWapiti]

Holy moly! I am sorry that happened to you. That would be tough for me. Is it Nevada? Maybe strange 4th estrus in January happens in NV?

This was Northeast NV

 

[Hnthrdr]

Seen a bull topping a cow in 3rd rifle sometimes they keep cycling and get bred really late

 

[Soj51hopeful]

Dang…. Seems pretty strange. I’m sure the area biologist would like to hear from you.

 

[spike camp]

My wife called it a Toofer

 

[Larry Bartlett]

yeah elk veal prob be good AF

 

[UncleBone]

Hopefully you eat that thing! Like said above, I bet it would be delicious. And its already dead now so may as well.

 

[cnelk]

Careful.
A GW could cite you for taking 2 elk lol

 

[RockAndSage]

That is so weird - their gestation is something like 8 months. So if that was close to full-term, then...what, bred in March/April?

 

[spike camp]

That is so weird - their gestation is something like 8 months. So if that was close to full-term, then...what, bred in March/April?

More like December/ January

 

[wyohayes]

Yes, it happens. Rare though. When doing field work studying elk I saw numerous elk with fetuses (via ultrasound) many months of the year. It is rare but for one reason or another it happens. Little research (to my knowledge) has been done on estrus cycles of elk outside of the 1st and 2nd "peak" but i could imagine that it continues cycling until/unless pregnant as happens in other mammals. I suspect it actually would have survived though it would have been a tough first year!

Here is some of the relevant research:
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2015/rmrs_2015_keller_b001.pdf (MO/SD births into sep 26)
- https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/104/6/1264/7273652 (august births but also kentucky)

I don't know of "classic" mtn west research locations publishing similar results