Elk Bugling

No photos this time. Just a written account of a recent fun adventure.

John and I picked up Aunt Sandy on our way to a remote wilderness area on the Cumberland Plateau near the TN-KY line a few weeks ago. We drove first on the Interstate Highway, then turned onto a state highway, then onto a curvy lane that wound for miles and miles and miles, then onto a logging road for more miles, then finally onto a gravel parking lot. Then, we had to walk about a mile (maybe less but it seemed longer) on a nice pathway covered with crushed stone, to an elevated wooden viewing station. The platform was about 30 wooden steps above the ground, about ten by ten, with a rough shingled roof.

We found ourselves overlooking a wonderfully pastoral scene ... a large, lush clearing surrounded by forest, perched on the flat top of one of the mountain ranges. There were several other clearings, all interconnected by grassy areas but each surrounded by woods. The neighboring plateaus were visible above the trees because we had climbed up so high, too. Best of all, there was a herd of about 25 huge elk lounging around on the grass practically beneath our feet!

We sat on our wooden bench seats and watched the herd's behavior for a couple of hours, starting just before sunset and staying until full dark. We were hoping the see the dominant bull (with a huge antler rack) bugling, but were disappointed. He meandered around among his cows and calves, keeping tabs on them all as the other adult males (not so impressive) hung out in small groups or by themselves. They stayed near enough to the herd for safety (and probably for a chance to sneak in to the cows when the big one wasn't looking) but far enough away to avoid the big bull's wrath. The younger ones did a bit of jousting with each other, which we could hear even after it was too dark to see clearly.

Just as it grew really dark, the reason for the lack of bugling (at least we think it was a good reason) became apparent: we heard several coyotes barking and calling to each other. Eerie sounding, especially when we stopped to realize that we still had a long walk on an uneven, meandering trail in the dark through trees and shrubbery before we would again be inside the van and able to close the door!

The stones on the path were white and/or light gray, so we could see where to put our feet. The bad news was, the stones rattled when we stepped on them, which made it difficult for us to keep quiet to listen for the no-doubt-skulking coyotes...

All in all, a grand adventure, and we will go again next fall. I had been under the impression that all the reintroduced elk were on the NC side of the Appalachians; I was thrilled to read in the newspaper that there was a successful herd within 2 or 3 hours of our house.

By the way, the females almost "mew" instead of bugle. They sound more like birds than huge mammals. Just an interesting but little known fact ....