White Butts and Elk Ruts

Bordering Santa Clara Valley to the east is the Diablo Range, which is home to a rare population of tule elk that roam the hillsides. And August through November is a critical time for these animals, because it’s breeding, or rut season! Keep reading to learn more about tule elk.

Tule elk are large, weighing hundreds of pounds and averaging seven feet long and 4-5 feet tall. These ungulates, or hooved mammals, are light brown with a darker brown mane around their necks, and a white rump, or backside. Their babies, or calves, resemble deer fawns, with light brown spotted coats. Tule elk are grazers, consuming annual and perennial grasses, herbs, woody shrubs, and trees.

Fun fact: an adult elk often eats around 15 pounds of food each day!

Historically, tule elk’s grazing habits played an essential role in managing the amount of vegetation found in these native California landscapes and preventing large-scale wildfires, a job now largely taken on by cattle. In fact, cattle grazing is complimentary to the native elk grazing because the cattle eat the non-native grasses that originated from the same place as, and evolved alongside, the cattle.

During rut season, which peaks in October and November, the most common breeding ritual for these animals is called bugling (pronounced “byoo-guh-ling"). The male elk, or bull, makes loud noises to attract a female elk, known as a cow. The gestation period is roughly 255 days, and calves are born around May. The average female has five to six calves in her lifetime, but only around 10% of males successfully mate, which makes the process highly competitive and often causes fighting between the bulls. When bulls fight, they put on dramatic displays, repeatedly clashing their antlers together.

The population of tule elk that are local to Santa Clara County are found in the Diablo Range, moving north and south along the mountains as food and water are available. Máyyan 'Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve, which opened to the public on August 31, 2023, is part of this range, supporting the species in the south Bay Area. Tule elk herds can also be found in Point Reyes, the San Luis Reservoir, Pacheco State Park, and a few other places throughout California.

Click here to learn how you can access this one-of-a-kind open space preserve.