Wind Cave Offers Programs to Listen for Elk Bugling

Rangers at Wind Cave will be offering programs this September to listen for elk bugling in the park.

NPS Photo: Marc Ohms

News Release Date: August 31, 2012

Contact: Tom Farrell, 605-745-1130

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. - Rangers at Wind Cave National Park will be leading programs this September to listen for the bugle of the Rocky Mountain elk. The elk's high-pitched whistle heralds the arrival of fall and the mating season of the

Throughout the month of September, rangers are giving brief interpretive programs about elk before leading a caravan to a nearby pullout to listen for them. These programs are offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings through Thursday, September 27. Participants meet at the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater at 7 p.m. and are encouraged to bring a flashlight, a blanket to sit on, and to dress warmly.

"This is a fun activity that gets people out to enjoy the sights and sounds of fall," said park superintendent Vidal Davila. "The sound of an elk bugling in the evening twilight is truly one of the wild sounds of the Black Hills."

The fall ranger program schedule also includes Natural Entrance Tours of Wind Cave throughout the day. Participants are encouraged to bring a light coat or sweater and good walking shoes. The tour lasts approximately 75 minutes and involves 300 stairs, most of which are going down. The park visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through September 22 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. September 23 through October 13.

The park's winter interpretive schedule begins on October 14 with tours of the Garden of Eden at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. and visitor center hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call the park at [phone].