Tule Elk Reserve

We took a drive just outside of Bakersfield to the Tule Elk Reserve to see the native elk. We had to look and look and look before seeing the elk, but it was really exciting when we finally saw them. We've been studying "Ungulates". If you don't know what ungulates are, I'll tell you. Ungulates are hoofed creatures. That would include horses, giraffes, deer, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, camels, llamas, rhinos, and many more. We read about elephants, donkeys, zebras, tapirs and a number of African animals. It was fun to learn about how cows had four chamber stomachs and chew a cud--so do elk! We have learned about so many different animals I have never heard of, like an okapis, zibu, blue wildebeest, and tapirs. The male elk grow new horns every year. They shed their old ones in late winter. We saw some horns on the ground. The older they are, the bigger their antlers get. Some were pretty old as they had nice big antlers. Look at these--what a fight!