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Advertising Calls
Because bull elk don't normally often associate with the cows prior to the rut, and due to their large home ranges, bull elk use loud calls to express dominance and attract the cows. When a bull uses a roar, a bugle or a chuckle it is telling any other bull within hearing, "Here I am, stay away." At the same time it is telling the cows, "Here I am. I am strong, ready to prove it by fighting, and ready to breed." Each bull has its own individual pitch and cadence, that remains similar year after year after they reach maturity. However, individual bulls don't always sound the same. Cows may become accustomed to a particular bull's voice if they were part of its herd in previous years, and return to that bull in the following years.

The Bugle is a loud scream, which is variable in pitch, with higher sounds often coming from younger smaller bulls, and deeper sounds from older larger bulls. The "Full Bugle Sequence" performed by an adult bull, begins with a Roar that usually gains in volume: rrrRRR. The Roar is often followed by a high-pitched Bugle (which may rise two to three notes): eee-EEE, followed by a series of grunts called a Chuckle, which may sound like the braying of a donkey. The Chuckle often ends on a quieter note than it began on, because the bull runs out of air: UH-UH-UH-uh. The Full Bugle Sequence sounds like: rrrRRR-eee-EEE-UH-UH-UH-UH-uh. A Bugle or a Bugle-Chuckle usually lasts .3-.4 of a second, and may occur as often as twice a minute; a Full Bugle Sequence may last up to .6 of a second

Yearling bulls rarely bugled, when they did it was often a high flute-like sound; 2 year old bulls may perform a crude, short Bugle without the Roar or Chuckle. I've heard bulls between the ages of 3 and 10 years old perform the Full Bugle Sequence, only the Roar, only the Bugle, only the Chuckle, or any combination of the three calls. But, when the calls are used in combination the Roar is used before the Bugle and/or the Chuckle, and the Bugle is used before the Chuckle; resulting in the Roar, the Bugle, the Chuckle, the Roar-Bugle, the Roar-Chuckle, the Bugle-Chuckle and the Roar-Bugle-Chuckle. Some bulls are very melodious, while others sound like a woman screaming, or as if they were being strangled. Cows rarely bugle, But I have heard them bugle in a higher pitch than the bulls.

Mating/Herding Calls and Sounds
Bulls often use a two-note Glug when they are herding cows, and when they perform the Flehmen sniff as they inhale urine to check cows for signs of estrous. It sounds like the animal is actually gulping water: glug glug. The Glug is not loud, but I have heard it as far as 200 yards away in open areas. It is probably used as a close range call for herding, and to alert other bulls that a dominant bull is with a cow. In this respect it is similar to the Click and the Tending Grunt used by a white-tailed deer buck.

Bull elk often breathe heavily when they herd cows or chase bulls; I've heard this Loud Inhale/Exhale as far away as thirty yards in open areas. I've also heard bulls use a loud, explosive exhale, or Cough, just before or after they chased another elk, often while they were herding cows. Cows may use a series of Submissive Mews in the presence of aggressive bulls, or while they are being herded by a bull.

While many elk experts and call manufacturers claim there is an "Estrus Cow Call" there does not appear to be one. There is probably no need for a cow elk to perform an "estrus cow call" because the bull determines whether or not the cows are in estrous by walking through the herd on a regular basis, and sniffing individual cows or their beds, throughout the day. I never heard any one of the 20 cows I saw get bred, perform any call within 20 minutes of being bred. As with white-tailed deer, I suspect the call many elk hunters, elk experts and elk call manufacturers refer to as an "Estrus Cow Call" is actually a "Social Contact Call".

I hope it helps some of you.


God bless

T.R.