Sunday Stills – World Animal Day

Posted in Birds, Nature, North Carolina, Photography, Texas, WildlifeTagged , , , , , ,
Whooping Crane, Texas

Terri’s latest Sunday Stills challenge is World Animal Day which was celebrated on October 4, 2025. Two animals that were on my bucket list were Whooping Cranes in Texas and Elk in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seeing these animals in the wild was an amazing experience.

Whooping Cranes

According to the International Crane Foundation – North America, Whooping Cranes were near extinction with fewer than 20 individuals in 1941. Today, over 849 Whooping Cranes exist in the entire world.

We traveled to the Texas Gulf Coast one year hoping to see some of the Whooping Cranes who winter in and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. These birds breed at Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park and migrate to Texas every winter. Today there are more than 500 of these beautiful birds.

We found these magnificent Whooping Cranes near Goose Island State Park, south of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. I posted about this amazing experience at Magnificent Endangered Whooping Cranes.

Pair of Whooping Cranes, Texas

Pair of Whooping Cranes, near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

Cataloochee Valley Elk

One fall we traveled to Waynesville, North Carolina in search of Elk in Cataloochee Valley on the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I posted about our Elk viewing adventure at Cataloochee Valley Elk.

In February, 2001, the National Park Service began an experimental reintroduction of elk into Cataloochee Valley by releasing 25 elk from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Another 27 elk from Canada were released in 2002. Today there are approximately 200 elk.

Bugling Elk, Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina

The breeding season, also known as the rutting season, is in the fall. During this time the bull elk make their bugling calls to attract females and challenge other bulls.

Female Elk, Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

Female Elk, Cataloochee Valley, North Carolona

Many thanks to Terri for her Sunday Stills challenge World Animal Day

Every Day is a Gift

18 thoughts on “Sunday Stills – World Animal Day”

  2. Thanks for taking me back to the TX coast for a visit with the whooping cranes. My husband is gearing up for Elk hunting near the Grand Canyon and I’m hearing elk bugling coming out of his office 😄

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  3. Beth, these are amazing captures! We also went to Port Aransas to see the whooping cranes this year. Like you, we spotted them at Goose Island SP, but I was unable to get any good pics. Your collection is beautiful.

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    1. Egidio, thank you so much! I’m glad you to to see the Whooping Cranes at Goose Island SP. I wasn’t sure if they were still going there. So sorry you weren’t able to get any good pics. It took a lot of patience to get these photos. I went 3 or 4 days in a row with my tripod and telephoto lens. There were a lot of Sand Hill Cranes and other wading birds when we were there.

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    1. Thanks Nancy! I planned our trip to Texas so we would be at Goose Island State Park when the Whooping Cranes would still be there. I never got tired of seeing them. Same thing with the elk. We timed our trip to see them during the fall.

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