The Elk Rut in Town
Near Estes Park, Colorado
If you visit Estes Park in autumn, you may witness one of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles in North America, and you might see it right on a golf course. Every year, in the fall, the elk enter their mating season, known as the rut. During this time the bull elk fill the crisp mountain air with a strange, unforgettable sound called bugling.
It starts as a low growl, rises to a high pitched, almost otherworldly scream, and ends in a series of grunts. A bull uses it to advertise his fitness to nearby females and to warn off rival males, and it often echoes across the valley at dawn and dusk. What makes Estes Park special is that the elk come down out of the high meadows and right into town.
It is not unusual to see a harem of cows gathered around a bull sprawled across the lawns and fairways in the heart of Estes Park. The town even throws a festival, Elk Fest, to celebrate. It is a genuine thrill, but keep your distance.
Rangers advise staying at least seventy five feet away, roughly the length of two school buses, because a rutting bull is powerful, unpredictable, and very much wild.
