I am always fascinated by articles on how animals learn. Researchers have found that female elk develop more successful hunter avoidance strategies as they age. After age 10, the females are almost invulnerable. Bulls rarely make it past 5, whereas cows can live up to age 20.
"A team of scientists wanted to know: What makes senior cows so survival-savvy? Is it because these elk are more cautious by nature, which made them better at evading hunters all along? Or is it nurture, and cows can learn to dodge hunters over their lifetime, even if they start out more daring? It seems both factors are at play,..."
One observed strategy is that they will take to rough terrain when pursued by bow hunters. One researcher suspects that male elk could learn also but the males tend to be more heavily targeted by hunters both for trophy reasons and hunting regulations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/science/female-elk-hunters.html?module=WatchingPortal®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=5&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F06%2F15%2Fscience%2Ffemale-elk-hunters.html&eventName=Watching-article-click&_r=0
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