At 7:30 am, standing in a grove of trees, in theTexas Hill State, the sunshine is participating in with glancing gentle around the landscape. Unnervingly shut is the get in touch with of a significant male elk, spraying mist with his grunts. He can see me but, he is just not operating absent, and he won’t seem pleased that I am there. You can listen to others bugling elsewhere in the trees. I question if Elk are native to Texas? Can they be intense? The reply is Of course, and No. Elk employed to roam above a lot of the condition but were being hunted pretty much to extinction and they don’t like you to be far too close, specifically in the Tumble. Formally the Point out suggests today’s elk were being imported listed here and so are deemed Unique, which signifies you can hunt them any time devoid of a restrict. However, a lot of Hill Nation ranchers say they really should be specified Wildlife standing so they are additional guarded. Irrespective, there are Native species that have wandered down from the New Mexico mountains and now roam about massive pieces of West Texas. My hosts at Damaged Arrow Ranch consider that the elk on their ranch are Native and thus ought to be shielded. As a plein air painter, all by yourself in the center of a big ranch, I just hope this elk would not cost me right until I get this painting carried out!