The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds

It’s hard to forget the eerie sound of an American bull elk bugling–the sound is almost completely unlike a bugle, but rather a high, unearthly wail. Elk bugling is a common sound at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in the fall, when elk rut (seek mates).

American elk (Cervus canadensis*), which once numbered 10 million in North America and which lived in grasslands from coast to coast, today are mostly confined to last remaining wild spaces in the mountains. In Colorado, according to seasonal park ranger Harv Burman, wildland is developed at a rate of 4 acres per hour. That doesn’t leave much space for the elk, but in September and early October you still have a good chance of hearing or seeing elk at the park, particularly at the south end and along Lower Twin Rock Road.

During the rut, or mating season, cow elk focus on eating. They need the fuel to carry calves through the winter. The bulls, however, are often too busy to eat–the successful are busy gathering and keeping harems of 10-15 cows. They shed the velvet from their antlers in August, and polish them on trees. Struggles between males usually involve only pushing and shoving, and the antlers are more for display than combat. The bugling is also a warning to other males.

The Rocky Mountain elk (C. canadensis nelsoni) is the largest of the North American elk and the largest of the red deer species worldwide. In Europe, “elk” refers to the American moose (Alces alces), and “red deer” to C. elaphus, although European and Asian red deer are much smaller than American elk. There has been a largely unsuccessful push in North America to call C. canadensis by its Shawnee name, “wapiti,” meaning “white rump.” Like “buffalo” for the American bison (Bison bison), the name “elk” has centuries of inertia behind it.

Signs of elk–tracks, scat, scarred aspens, and broken ponderosa saplings–are common sights in the Front Range, but elk themselves are more elusive. Hundreds of elk graze and mate in the park in fall. In September and early October, park rangers at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument lead evening programs to listen and look for elk. The chances of hearing the elk are very good, but elk sightings occur less often.

Many quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) trunks in the park are scarred from elk eating the bark. Aspen bark is photosynthetic and a favorite of elk, especially in winter when nutritious grazing is hard to come by. Unfortunately for the aspens, elk chew makes them vulnerable to infection. Canker-invading fungi such as sooty-bark canker (Encoelia pruinosa) attack the trees, often killing them. Because aspens stands are “clones” with a common root system, fungus spreads rapidly from tree to tree. Sometimes a combination of overgrazing and fungus can kill an entire aspen clone.

The last elk walk this year will be on October 13, but you can always visit the park to listen and look for elk yourself. Nearby Mueller State Park is also a good place to spot elk.

ELK-SPOTTING TIPS

• Early morning and late evening in fall are the best times to see elk in the Front Range.
• Elk are color-blind, so it doesn’t matter what you wear, but try to stay in the cover of the trees.
• If you spot a herd, approach quietly and slowly from downwind. Elk have excellent senses of hearing and smell.
• Stop and listen frequently for the distinctive wailing bugles of the bulls. Elk herds can travel and change direction quickly.
• If you want a virtual guarantee of seeing elk and don’t mind them being practically tame, visit Rocky Mountain National Park. In this area, elk are so used to humans they have become pests.

-Melissa Barton

Photo Credits: PDPhoto.org/Jon Sullivan (elk at Yellowstone), Melissa Barton (broken sapling and Ranger Burman giving a talk)

*Some biologists classify American elk as belonging to the same species as European and Asian red deer, C. elaphus. Recent genetic studies suggest that American elk belong to a different species from red deer. Further studies will clarify the relationship of different species and subspecies of red deer and American elk (return to article).