Recording Wildlife Clip 1 - A Cow Elk

The first clip in this series, is my encounter with a cow elk. This video was taken in the wild of northern Alberta, Canada. My first indication that she was near, was a 'cow chirp' she made while I was hiking nearby. I recognized it as an elk call, and made some vocals of my own to focus in on where exactly she was. After about five minutes of slow creeping through the forest, I came upon a clearing and spotted her on the far side. I then got my video camera out and made this short recording from deep cover.

Like all animals in the wild, elk are very sensitive. Sight, sound, and smell play a major role in their defence. If you trigger any one of those senses, they will immediately focus attention and prepare to evade. Sight and sound are secondary to smell. If something smells off (like humans) they will evade quietly, but if any two of the three senses gets triggered at the same time, they will evade downwind at full speed, and cover ground through thick foliage that humans would be hard pressed to follow in.

Closeup example of an elk. (Wapiti; Cervus canadensis)

The type of mic on my video camera is great at picking up the animals as they 'talk' from far away, but the downside is extra ambient noise. Be prepared to adjust your volume if necessary.

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