The Sounds Elk Use, and What they Mean
07-31-2010, 11:05 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 417
The Sounds Elk Use, and What they Mean
Ths is from my book Elk Addict's Manual, it is copyrighted.
Interestingly, after I sent my research papers to well know cercvidae researcher Dr. Valerius Geist, he told me he had just re-written the book North American Elk; Ecology and Management. He said that if he had received my papers six months earlier, it would have changed the whole chapter. Then he said that he wonderd why no one else had ever researched that elk herd. And he told me that I knew more about elk behavior than anyone he knew. I was kind of shocked at that,
Elk Vocalizations and Communicative Sounds
During the fall of 2001 I spent four to seven hours per day, for 90 days, researching the behavior and communication of over one hundred and eighty 3-year old or older bulls, approximately fifty 1-year old bulls, fifty 2- year old bulls and 200+ cows and their calves. I continued this research in the fall of 2002 and 2003. During that time I believe I heard most of the calls that an elk can make, some of which I had never heard about before.
The differences in the inflection, pitch and duration of these calls may be slight, and they may be hard for most hunters to hear. Cow and calf mews often sound alike, but the volume, pitch and duration of the calls is different. The difference in the meaning between two similar sounding calls is often determined by the body language or action of the elk. While the "you're too close" Agonistic/Threat mews and the "leave me alone" or "I'm doing what you want" Agonistic/Submissive mews sound very similar, an animal performing a "you're too close" call usually stands its ground or advances, while an animal performing a "leave me alone" or a "I'm doing what you want" call is moving away. The Submissive Cow Mew used by a cow to get a bull to leave it alone, and the Agonistic Sparring Mew used by bulls when they are sparring, sound very similar. However, the cows are generally moving away from a bull; sparring bulls are usually moving toward each other.
Alarm / Distress Calls
Elk use a sharp, loud Alarm Bark to warn other elk of possible danger: UHH. An elk using this call may be alarmed because it cannot identify the source of a disturbance. Some elk may try to discover what the disturbance is by looking for it with their chin up and their head in a horizontal position. Once the disturbance is discovered, and thought to be dangerous, the animal may issue a final Alarm Bark and flee. Cows and calves may perform a long, drawn out Distress Mew when they are injured or trapped: MEEUUUW.
Agonistic Calls
These calls are termed "agonistic" because the animal is agonizing over the fact that another animal is too close. Many of these calls are somewhat aggressive in nature. Both cows and bulls may produce a Hissing sound: ssss and use Tooth-Grinding as they approach an opponent. Tooth-Grinding may have a grating sound, but I've also heard bulls perform Tooth-Grinding when the get close to a smaller bull they want to move; it sounded like a squeegee on wet glass, or a rubber tennis shoe on a wet tile floor: squeek … squeek. Cow elk use the loud Fighting Squeal during dominance fights: ME-ee-EE-ee-EE-UUW.
Bulls may perform one to four loud exhales referred to as a Cough when they want another elk to move, or after they have chased a cow. If the animal that the Cough is directed at does not move, the bull may show and grind its teeth, and bite or kick the other animal. Bulls use a loud explosive Dominance Grunt (UGHH) when they want another bull to move. Bulls may also use a low gurgling or rumbling Threat Rumble (RRRR) when threatening another bull; this call cannot be heard farther than about twenty yards away by humans. If the bull that the Threat Rumble is directed at does not move it may be attacked by the other bull; by using its antlers. Bulls may use a repeated loud Agonistic Mew (mee-eee-eeu) when they spar or fight.
Agonistic/Submissive Calls
While these calls are technically speaking Agonistic in nature, they appear to be more of a submissive call than an aggressive call. Cows trying to avoid a herding bull often use short Submissive Mew or a series of Submissive Mews: meeuw, or mew-mew-mew-mew. Subordinate bulls use a lower pitched yet similar Submissive Mew when avoiding dominant bulls.
Maternal/Neonatal Calls
Cows and calves use a variety of mews to communicate with each other. Cows use a loud, high-pitched nasal Maternal Mew to call their calves to come and nurse: EE-UW-UW-EU or EE-EE-EE-EU. The calves may respond to the cow with a high-pitched Calf Mew or Chirp; MEW or EEU. Calves use a loud high-pitched Loud Calf Mew when they are looking for the cow or when they require urgent care: MEUUW; they use a soft Nursing Whine that rises and falls in pitch while suckling: ee-uw-ee-uw-ee-uw. Cows often respond to these calls with a medium loud Cow Mew: meew. Many of these cow/calf calls are of one short to medium note, but I have heard drawn out mews, and as many as four Calf Mews strung together. Most Mews are about .1 of a second in length, with two mews in .3 of a second.
Social Contact Calls and Sounds
The Knuckle-Cracking of the front legs of elk produce a click that elk use to keep contact with each other, and to distinguish the sounds of elk from other animals as they move and feed; it sounds like the Knuckle-Cracking of caribou. Cow elk and calves use a loud Contact Mew when they are searching for or trying to maintain contact with other animals of the herd: MEW or MEW - MEW. The Loud Calf Mew used by calves when they are young changes into the Contact Call as the calves grow older. I have heard bulls use a medium-loud, short, one note Grunt when they were looking for elk they could hear but not see; UGH.
(continued on next page)
I hope it helps some of you.
God bless,
T.R.
Interestingly, after I sent my research papers to well know cercvidae researcher Dr. Valerius Geist, he told me he had just re-written the book North American Elk; Ecology and Management. He said that if he had received my papers six months earlier, it would have changed the whole chapter. Then he said that he wonderd why no one else had ever researched that elk herd. And he told me that I knew more about elk behavior than anyone he knew. I was kind of shocked at that,
Elk Vocalizations and Communicative Sounds
During the fall of 2001 I spent four to seven hours per day, for 90 days, researching the behavior and communication of over one hundred and eighty 3-year old or older bulls, approximately fifty 1-year old bulls, fifty 2- year old bulls and 200+ cows and their calves. I continued this research in the fall of 2002 and 2003. During that time I believe I heard most of the calls that an elk can make, some of which I had never heard about before.
The differences in the inflection, pitch and duration of these calls may be slight, and they may be hard for most hunters to hear. Cow and calf mews often sound alike, but the volume, pitch and duration of the calls is different. The difference in the meaning between two similar sounding calls is often determined by the body language or action of the elk. While the "you're too close" Agonistic/Threat mews and the "leave me alone" or "I'm doing what you want" Agonistic/Submissive mews sound very similar, an animal performing a "you're too close" call usually stands its ground or advances, while an animal performing a "leave me alone" or a "I'm doing what you want" call is moving away. The Submissive Cow Mew used by a cow to get a bull to leave it alone, and the Agonistic Sparring Mew used by bulls when they are sparring, sound very similar. However, the cows are generally moving away from a bull; sparring bulls are usually moving toward each other.
Alarm / Distress Calls
Elk use a sharp, loud Alarm Bark to warn other elk of possible danger: UHH. An elk using this call may be alarmed because it cannot identify the source of a disturbance. Some elk may try to discover what the disturbance is by looking for it with their chin up and their head in a horizontal position. Once the disturbance is discovered, and thought to be dangerous, the animal may issue a final Alarm Bark and flee. Cows and calves may perform a long, drawn out Distress Mew when they are injured or trapped: MEEUUUW.
Agonistic Calls
These calls are termed "agonistic" because the animal is agonizing over the fact that another animal is too close. Many of these calls are somewhat aggressive in nature. Both cows and bulls may produce a Hissing sound: ssss and use Tooth-Grinding as they approach an opponent. Tooth-Grinding may have a grating sound, but I've also heard bulls perform Tooth-Grinding when the get close to a smaller bull they want to move; it sounded like a squeegee on wet glass, or a rubber tennis shoe on a wet tile floor: squeek … squeek. Cow elk use the loud Fighting Squeal during dominance fights: ME-ee-EE-ee-EE-UUW.
Bulls may perform one to four loud exhales referred to as a Cough when they want another elk to move, or after they have chased a cow. If the animal that the Cough is directed at does not move, the bull may show and grind its teeth, and bite or kick the other animal. Bulls use a loud explosive Dominance Grunt (UGHH) when they want another bull to move. Bulls may also use a low gurgling or rumbling Threat Rumble (RRRR) when threatening another bull; this call cannot be heard farther than about twenty yards away by humans. If the bull that the Threat Rumble is directed at does not move it may be attacked by the other bull; by using its antlers. Bulls may use a repeated loud Agonistic Mew (mee-eee-eeu) when they spar or fight.
Agonistic/Submissive Calls
While these calls are technically speaking Agonistic in nature, they appear to be more of a submissive call than an aggressive call. Cows trying to avoid a herding bull often use short Submissive Mew or a series of Submissive Mews: meeuw, or mew-mew-mew-mew. Subordinate bulls use a lower pitched yet similar Submissive Mew when avoiding dominant bulls.
Maternal/Neonatal Calls
Cows and calves use a variety of mews to communicate with each other. Cows use a loud, high-pitched nasal Maternal Mew to call their calves to come and nurse: EE-UW-UW-EU or EE-EE-EE-EU. The calves may respond to the cow with a high-pitched Calf Mew or Chirp; MEW or EEU. Calves use a loud high-pitched Loud Calf Mew when they are looking for the cow or when they require urgent care: MEUUW; they use a soft Nursing Whine that rises and falls in pitch while suckling: ee-uw-ee-uw-ee-uw. Cows often respond to these calls with a medium loud Cow Mew: meew. Many of these cow/calf calls are of one short to medium note, but I have heard drawn out mews, and as many as four Calf Mews strung together. Most Mews are about .1 of a second in length, with two mews in .3 of a second.
Social Contact Calls and Sounds
The Knuckle-Cracking of the front legs of elk produce a click that elk use to keep contact with each other, and to distinguish the sounds of elk from other animals as they move and feed; it sounds like the Knuckle-Cracking of caribou. Cow elk and calves use a loud Contact Mew when they are searching for or trying to maintain contact with other animals of the herd: MEW or MEW - MEW. The Loud Calf Mew used by calves when they are young changes into the Contact Call as the calves grow older. I have heard bulls use a medium-loud, short, one note Grunt when they were looking for elk they could hear but not see; UGH.
(continued on next page)
I hope it helps some of you.
God bless,
T.R.
Last edited by trmichels; 07-31-2010 at 11:18 AM.
07-31-2010, 11:06 AM
#2
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 417
(continued from previous page)
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.
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.
Last edited by trmichels; 07-31-2010 at 11:20 AM.
08-22-2010, 05:32 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 417
Any questions befroe the elk season starts? I can't hunt thie year due to poor health, extreme pain, and the pain meds I'm on 24/7 - so help me feel better by allowing me to help you get your animals this year.
Gdo bless,
T.R.
Gdo bless,
T.R.
08-23-2010, 01:36 PM
#5
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Paradise
Posts: 23,428
Thank you TR for all the usual great information. The way I see it any information on elk behaviour is welcome and will only make me a better elk hunter. Elk are very social and make all kinds of noises and your posts help to clarify what is going on. I'll be sure to go over it all again just before I leave for the hunt. If you don't mind I would like to print it out for the guys that don't come to this site. I hope your pain and condition gets better. I know it has been going on for a few years now and I wish you well.
Frank
Frank
08-23-2010, 01:48 PM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 588
Thank you for sharing some info from your book and your knowledge. I'm new to elk hunting (4th year this year). I have a cow tag for CO. muzzleloader season and trying to figure out what the best approach to find and shoot a cow. A lot of people say "find the herd and shoot one". I'm looking deeper for an answer then that. The area I hunt is on public land with a lot of pressure. We have found an area where even with the pressure, the elk tend to hang out because the signs are there. I have not seen herds, only small groups (2 - 3) mostly other then individual elk during ML season.
The questions I have that I'm not sure on are: 1) If you hear a bull, do you work him with hopes that he has cows with him? 2) Do you cow call a lot with the hopes of bringing a cow in? I hear and read a lot of tactics on hunting bulls but hardly hear anything on cow hunting tactics.
Thanks,
Mitch
The questions I have that I'm not sure on are: 1) If you hear a bull, do you work him with hopes that he has cows with him? 2) Do you cow call a lot with the hopes of bringing a cow in? I hear and read a lot of tactics on hunting bulls but hardly hear anything on cow hunting tactics.
Thanks,
Mitch
