By July, cows and calves begin forming nursery groups. Within the larger herd, calves form smaller groups that center around one cow at a time. The calves respond as a group to the signals of the baby-sitter, a strategy that eliminates confusion when danger threatens and so helps protect the calves. It also allows the cows to spend most of their time eating, and to react quickly and better protect themselves. By now, calves are safe from most predators.
Bulls usually spend the summer alone or in small groups at high elevations.
In such places, they find rich forage, cool breezes and resting areas with fewer annoying insects. Eating All the Time Elk eat almost constantly during the summer. They keep feeding morning, afternoon, evening and even in the middle of the night, although they feed more often at dawn and dusk. They are building up fat in preparation for the mating season and then the long winter. If people had to eat and chew their food as much as elk do in the summer, we would have less than 10 free minutes every hour for other activities.