A herd of Tule elk, perhaps eighty strong, was running as if the devil himself was on their heels. Females, calves, and young males formed a double column and ran parallel but behind my parked truck at a considerable distance to my right. They were braying as they ran, occasionally an individual would take a wicked tumble and bounce back up in stride. As they caught up to my truck they were veering left, and crossed the dirt road perhaps 120 feet in front of me, which is when I took this shot. After moving into the field a few hundred yards, they circled up, calling to a cow who had lost contact with the train. Once she rejoined them, they visibly relaxed, and slowly moved on. There are only about 6,000 Tule elk in the world today, all in California. They had numbered a half-million before the Gold Rush, and DNA analysis shows their numbers had been reduced to 2-4 individuals before a lone rancher saved these elk from extinction. Carizzo Plain National Monument, March 2023.