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Elk population in good standing heading into hunting season
While you may start to see bears becoming more active while they prepare for their winter hibernation, you may start seeing elk become more active around the province for a different reason. Elk are heading into their annual mating season, known at the ‘rut’ or ‘rutting season’, and as a result you may see male elk in particular starting wander off more.
Allison Henderson Hunter is the Ministry of Environment’s Provincial Elk Specialist, and she said that the annual rut can be one of the most exciting times of the year to spot an elk.
“The rut happens during a three-to-four-week period starting in the fall, so soon we’ll have the male of the herds trying to demonstrate their size and superiority using their antlers, their scent, and their bugle, and that bugle is a very special sound that elk make. They are really an amazing animal to be able to make this very haunting sound, so we’re coming up to a period of time where folks in the province could try to listen for this elk bugle, it can be heard from miles away.”
During this time of the year, elk can be especially aggressive while they are looking for mates to add into their harem. While elk are a gorgeous animal to observe, it is never safe to approach, especially so at this time of year.