After spending several hours feeding on willows and bitterbrush in the open meadows at daybreak, this bull quietly followed the cows across the Gros Ventre River toward the daytime protection of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. During the autumn rut, a bull’s priorities change. Food becomes secondary, and wherever the cows go, he is usually close behind. I watched from the riverbank as he waded through the cold current, never once acknowledging my presence. He wasn’t putting on a display or looking for a fight. He simply had somewhere more important to be.