Bull Elk Horning / Bugling Activity
The Gallery - Bull Behavior and Vocalizations
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24m
What You'll See:
In this sequence, you'll see a relaxed harem and herd bull, with the cows leisurely feeding, and the bull displaying "horning" behavior (as he creates a scrape, or dry wallow), bugling, and brief courtship behavior.
Setting the Stage:
Immediately preceding this sequence, the herd bull and cows moved out of the timber below, and away from another herd bull, his cows, and a satellite bull. When the group reached their current location (just inside the upper edge of the timberline below the open alpine), the cows settled down and started feeding, nursing, and resting. Once assured the cows were "settled," and his group wasn't actively being pursued by the other bulls nearby, the herd bull settled into creating a "horning" site/scrape/dry wallow and bugling to maintain distance between him and the other bulls.
Viewing/Listening Tips:
To maximize your ability to hear all of the various vocalizations during the sequence, use headphones or earbuds. With external speakers, turn volume up as high as you can, but understand that some vocalizations may not be heard without the aid of headphones/earbuds. In either case, use caution on your volume settings as some of the bugles are extremely loud, especially when the volume is adjusted to hear the distant or very quiet vocalizations!
Vocalizations inside parenthesis denote vocalizations made by animals OFF-SCREEN. Text and commentary without parenthesis denotes vocalizations made by animals ON-SCREEN.
Vocalizations:
Mews (bull and cow), Glunks/Glunking, Huffs/Huffing, Whines (bull), Moans (bull), Roars, Low & Moderate Intensity Excited Chuckles, Check Bugles, Level 2 Contact Bugles, and Levels 2 & 3 Dominant Bugles
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