Hunters must be mindful of elks’ keen sense of smell, but at least one curious cow elk in the Greys River area of Teton County is undeterred by residual human and horse scent at a game camera site.
Video taken by the camera shows the cow elk — missing about half of one of her ears — walking right up to the camera, sticking her face into the lens and snuffing away.
“I am nicknaming her ‘van Gogh’ for her missing ear,” Teton County resident Lacelynn Seibel, who set the camera up, told Cowboy State Daily.
It’s a reference to famed 19th century artist Vincent van Gogh, who sliced off part of his own ear.
Making Scents Of It All
An avid archery hunter, Seibel has been observing the Greys River herd since she moved to Teton County about three years ago.
She was somewhat concerned about how good her trail camera footage would be this season, because she left a lot of scent at the site when she installed the trail camera.
She rode her horse into the site and “it’s a little way back in there and we were both really sweaty when we arrived,” she said.
Like any archery hunter, she knows that even a small trace of human scent can be enough to ruin a good hunt.
However, older residual scent apparently doesn’t bother elk that much, Seibel said, because she’s captured great footage of van Gogh and other elk from the herd.
Alex Maher, an archery hunter from Jackson, said that matches his experience.
“I think you can walk by and minutes or hours later, they’re not going to pick your scent up off the ground,” he said. “The main part of elk smelling you is when you’re there.
“If you are upwind of elk, and they catch your scent, they’re out of there."
Some hunters use “scent killer” formulas that can be sprayed on clothing or even used as laundry detergent.
Maher said he relies more on paying attention to wind direction. He carries a “wind-checker” with him while hunting.
That’s a small, squeezable tube of fine powder. When the tube is squeezed, it shoots a puff of the powder into the air, which will indicate which way the wind is blowing.
What’s With The Ear?
Like much of the wildlife in central and Western Wyoming, the Greys River elk suffered horribly during the hard winter of 2022-2023, when thousands of animals froze or starved to death.
Even so, elk are hardy and resilient, and Seibel said that from what she’s seen, the Greys River elk she tracks are making a strong comeback.
“The past two years, the elk have had so many babies, and they’re all so fat,” she said.
As to how the particularly curious cow elk lost half an ear, Seibel said she doesn’t know.
Van Gogh the artist sliced off part of his left ear on Christmas Eve in 1888, supposedly after a quarrel with his roommate in the south of France.
He reportedly wrapped the severed ear and delivered it to a woman in a neighborhood brothel, instructing her to “guard this object carefully.”
It’s thought that the bizarre episode stemmed from van Gogh’s exhaustion and possible mental illness.
Van Gogh the elk perhaps could have lost part of her ear to frostbite during that brutal 2022-2023 winter.
Seibel doubts that’s the case because the ear stub has a clean edge.
“It’s not typical what it looks like when they lose ears to frostbite, or get it caught in something,” she said. “It’s usually torn and tattered at the edges.”
‘It’s Just A Gorgeous Area’
Seibel said that as hunting season gets underway, van Gogh and the other cows in the herd are safe from her.
She prefers to shoot bulls.
“Last year I got a pretty good bull, so I’m holding out for an even better one this year,” she said.
Most archery elk hunting seasons kicked off Monday. Seibel said she prefers to wait until the middle of the month before venturing out. That way, she misses the initial rush and is more likely to have the fields and woods to herself.
And even if she doesn’t end up filling her elk tag, the experience is always worth it, she said.
The territory that the elk occupy have become one of her favorite places in the world.
She relocated to Teton County from the Midwest, where she loved archery hunting for elusive white-tailed deer. Archery elk hunting has proven to be a new challenge.
“It’s cool getting to know the terrain and how the animals use it,” she said. “It’s just a gorgeous area.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
