Elk Up Close
10/07/23 • 33 min
Get close to the autumn elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Hear elk bugling, a herd of elk running through a flooded meadow, two males cooling down by drinking and wallowing in the mud, a bull elk scratching his antlers on a tree before playfully sparring with another male, the sounds of elk eating grass, two bulls fighting, and elk calling to each other in the rain.
More from Jacob Job at https://www.jacobrjob.com/
Episode photograph: Bull elk (Cervus canadensis) chasing cow during the autumn rut with tongue sticking out in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (Steve Boice / Alamy)
Series illustration: Mia Rincón
Hear more from R. J. Fechter on https://rjfechter.bandcamp.com and https://www.twitch.tv/rjandj Hear more from Patrick McNameeKing on his podcast, Empty Clouds (Spotify, Apple, Google)
Transcript
Welcome to Ambient Colorado. I’m Sarah Vitak.
Rangers tell visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park ... stay far away from big animals like elk. Especially during the rut ... this large deer’s autumn mating season.
The sound of elk bugling is often heard far off in the distance this time of year.
Now you’ll have the chance to get up close and personal. A herd of elk will charge past your ears on their way to a watering hole. They’ll practically breathe down your neck ... as they eat ... drink ... and wallow in the mud. Males will spar with their antlers ... right in front of you.
Through the use of special techniques and equipment ... we’re able to safely record sound without disturbing the animals. This is a rare opportunity to experience the autumn rut happening all around you.
--
Sounds of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park ... recorded by Jacob Job.
Sound Design by Patrick McnameeKing.
Music by R. J. Fechter.
Series Producer ... Martin Burch.
Series Adviser ... Ann Marie Awad.
If you like what you hear on Ambient Colorado ... spread the word! Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts ... and share this episode with nature lovers in your life.
I’m Sarah Vitak in Denver, Colorado.
Get close to the autumn elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Hear elk bugling, a herd of elk running through a flooded meadow, two males cooling down by drinking and wallowing in the mud, a bull elk scratching his antlers on a tree before playfully sparring with another male, the sounds of elk eating grass, two bulls fighting, and elk calling to each other in the rain.
More from Jacob Job at https://www.jacobrjob.com/
Episode photograph: Bull elk (Cervus canadensis) chasing cow during the autumn rut with tongue sticking out in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (Steve Boice / Alamy)
Series illustration: Mia Rincón
Hear more from R. J. Fechter on https://rjfechter.bandcamp.com and https://www.twitch.tv/rjandj Hear more from Patrick McNameeKing on his podcast, Empty Clouds (Spotify, Apple, Google)
Transcript
Welcome to Ambient Colorado. I’m Sarah Vitak.
Rangers tell visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park ... stay far away from big animals like elk. Especially during the rut ... this large deer’s autumn mating season.
The sound of elk bugling is often heard far off in the distance this time of year.
Now you’ll have the chance to get up close and personal. A herd of elk will charge past your ears on their way to a watering hole. They’ll practically breathe down your neck ... as they eat ... drink ... and wallow in the mud. Males will spar with their antlers ... right in front of you.
Through the use of special techniques and equipment ... we’re able to safely record sound without disturbing the animals. This is a rare opportunity to experience the autumn rut happening all around you.
--
Sounds of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park ... recorded by Jacob Job.
Sound Design by Patrick McnameeKing.
Music by R. J. Fechter.
Series Producer ... Martin Burch.
Series Adviser ... Ann Marie Awad.
If you like what you hear on Ambient Colorado ... spread the word! Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts ... and share this episode with nature lovers in your life.
I’m Sarah Vitak in Denver, Colorado.
Previous Episode
Backyard
Appreciate the natural sounds of a Colorado backyard.
Hear more from Jacob Job at https://www.jacobrjob.com/
Series illustration: Mia Rincón
Episode photograph: Marek Uliasz / Alamy (Storm cloud over Fort Collins, Colorado)
Hear more from R. J. Fechter on https://rjfechter.bandcamp.com and https://www.twitch.tv/rjandj
Hear more from Patrick McNameeKing on his podcast, Empty Clouds (Spotify, Apple, Google)
Transcript
Welcome to Ambient Colorado. I’m Martin Burch.
Today ... a new perspective on a familiar, domestic landscape ... as we listen very closely to a northern Colorado backyard.
Our recording equipment makes it easier to be a patient, quiet listener ... revealing ever-present details which can be easily missed.
When most people are still asleep ... a whole bush full of House Sparrows are waking up and chatting away in the pre-dawn light ... as sprinklers water the garden.
Later ... we get close enough to touch the black-capped chickadees eating from a bird feeder and bathing in a small fountain.
Big sounds deserve a closer listen, too. Crickets chirp as a train passes through. A thunderstorm rolls in. And birds sing as the recycling is collected.
Nature is all around us ... if you listen closely.
...
Sounds of Loveland, Colorado ... recorded by Jacob Job.
Series Producer ... Martin Burch.
Series Adviser ... Ann Marie Awad.
Sound Design by Patrick McnameeKing.
Music by R. J. Fechter.
I’m Sarah Vitak in Denver, Colorado.
Next Episode
Enduring Elk
Elk mating calls echo through the ages in what is now Colorado's largest national park.
Hear more from Jacob Job at https://www.jacobrjob.com/
Series illustration: Mia Rincón
Episode photograph: Mark Byzewski CC-BY (Landscapes and Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park, Colorado.)
Hear more from R. J. Fechter on https://rjfechter.bandcamp.com and https://www.twitch.tv/rjandj
Hear more from Patrick McNameeKing on his podcast, Empty Clouds (Spotify, Apple, Google)
Transcript
Welcome to Ambient Colorado. I’m Sarah Vitak.
The echoes of elk bugling reveal the vast high-altitude meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park.
From September through October, these male elk are calling for mates.
We begin on a cold, rainy night in Moraine Park.
The temperature is barely above freezing.
A hundred thousand years ago this area’s evergreen-covered ridges ... called moraines ... were created by rocks left behind by a slow-moving river of ice.
A little more than a hundred years ago ... due to extensive hunting ... there were no elk seen here. At that time ... about fifty elk were imported from Yellowstone National Park ... and now thousands of elk again find their mates in Colorado’s largest national park.
We end in Big Meadows. A bull elk walks through the tall grass and calls into the night ... echoing his ancestors ... who bugled here for millennia.
Sounds of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park ... recorded by Jacob Job.
Series Producer ... Martin Burch.
Series Adviser ... Ann Marie Awad.
Sound Design by Patrick McnameeKing.
Music by R. J. Fechter.
If you enjoy Ambient Colorado, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts.
And share this podcast with a friend.
I’m Sarah Vitak in Denver, Colorado.
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