People shouldn’t be surprised if an incredible roadside photo opportunity quickly escalates into 800 lbs. Morgan says, “If you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching or listening to a bull elk defend or attract a harem during rut, you know first hand how personal preservation is the last thing on their mind. While the females are wisely putting on pounds before the winter months, male elk are losing weight because they’re too busy showing off for the ladies to bother eating. In female elk, the hormone changes cause them to go into estrus and release an alluring pheromone that makes the male elk go wild. Bull testosterone levels can increase 1,000 times,” Andy said in the interview. That triggers hormone changes in both bulls and cows. “Right now the days are getting shorter, which affects melatonin levels. The rut is associated with the autumn equinox because the short days trigger hormone changes in elk, according to this interview with Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s big game manager, Andy Holland. But, whoever told me this interesting fact left out a few key details that kept me wondering all these years. Was that the elk-equivalent of an adult telling me that babies come from storks? So, I did some fact-checking and it turns out that yes, the short days do trigger bugling. ![]() But what precipitates this distinctive sound? I decided to explore this question because I have a childhood memory of someone telling me that the short days trigger bugling. Bugling is a key part of this autumn ritual. During the rut, male elk have one (and only one) goal: mate. Male elk bugle during the ‘rut,’ the mating season running from September through October.
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