Elk Bugling Heard Again
It is only the beginning of the fall elk rut and the bugling of the bulls, but those in Grand Teton National Park in the evening hours can, with patience, hear the annual mating ritual taking place. Park Spokesperson Jackie Skaggs admits, the sound is rather unique. She calls the sound “eerie” and it seems strange that such a big, majestic animal makes such a very strange high-pitched squeal as they go about the breeding season. Skaggs suggests among the top spots for listening for the elk are the Jenny Lake Loop Road, near the Beaver Creek area, at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead parking area, adjacent the White Grass Ranch, and the Willow Flats area southwest of Jackson Lake Lodge. One special experience she says is to listen for them from above. She says drive to the top of the Signal Mountain summit road toward early evening and sit quietly up there as the delicate sound of the elk bugle wafts up the slopes of the mountain. Skaggs says this is just the beginning of the season, and the bugling of bull elk will become even more pronounced in the weeks ahead.
