Elk bugling
Carrie posted in What's happening on September 29th, 2009
Last Thursday for my first official work field trip we took a bunch of people Elk bugling. Having never actually bugled for an elk I did a lot of Googling, before my bugling. (Ha I crack myself up). Turns out bow-hunters in particular use commercially made Elk bugles to call curious male Elk in closer so that they can get a good shot. Who knew there were commercially made elk-bugles? I spent most of Thursday trying to make a bunch from bugles from metal electrical cable coverings…if you saw them you would know what I’m talking about.
During the rut, male Elk bugle (almost sounds like whistling really loud) and grunt to attract mates, tell other dudes to get lost, tell other dudes that they’re bigger and better, etc. Anyway it’s a pretty cool sound because this huge deer (second largest only to the moose) tenses up all its muscles and looks like it’s getting ready to roar, and then lets out this high pitched squeal that sounds like it should be coming from a bird or something. Male Elk keep harems of females during the rut and defend them from other males. If he hears another bugle nearby he’ll get super curious and will wander in closer to see who’s checking out his ladies. This way, when you go out Elk bugling, you can see them up close.
We were fortunate enough to just have to drive up the highway to Takhini River Valley until we saw a HUGE 9-point bull Elk. For pictures of the night you can check out Janet Webster’s album, who was a guest on the walk with us. We also used the radio telemetry from a couple of collared animals in the region to help narrow down the search. In total we have about 60 people there and we all walked into the bush and stopped to listen to the Elk all around us calling back.
In trying to describe the Elk bugling event for the CBC radio interview, I drew a parrallel between the spring swan migration, the Faro crane and sheep viewing festival, wolf howls, and the elk bugling. It’s like in every season there is a big event; something that really indicates the changes and is characteristic of that time/place. Elk bugling is for the fall. Hopefully it will become “The thing to do”. Everyone goes to see the swans in the spring, and they should hear the Elk in the fall. The major difference is, you’re not allowed to shoot the swans the next day.
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