Elk bugling, 2013 (photo by Paul Staniszewski)

27 September 2026

In September and October elk (Cervus canadensis) are in the rut in Pennsylvania. The dominant bulls follow groups of cows and warn other males away.

Males try to intimidate rivals by vocalizing and displaying with their antlers. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, sometimes sustaining serious injuries.

The sounds are haunting and surprisingly complex. Julia Plummer recorded them on the night of September 18-19 at State Gamelands 34 in Elk County.

The vocalizations are called “bugling” because they vaguely resemble a human bugle. Compare this to Julia’s elk recording below.

Human bugles don’t have a wide frequency range. The elk’s bugle are as low as 150Hz and as high as 7,500Hz (maybe higher?). Notice the patterns on the sonogram. Lots of it is outside my range of hearing.

To make these sounds the bull uses his larynx for lower frequencies and forces air through his nasal cavities for the high ones.

The message is, “I’m big and powerful and these cows are mine!” If it works, his eerie shrieking prevents a fight.