This May Be the Strangest Mating Ritual Ever

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Written by Trina Julian Edwards

Published: January 23, 2025

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Elk are the second largest animals in the deer family. Fully grown male elk, or bulls, average about five feet tall at the shoulders and can weigh as much as 1,100 pounds. Their antlers can reach five feet long and just under six feet wide, weighing 30-40 pounds per pair!

There’s no doubt the male elk is an impressive animal, as you can see in the video above. However, visitors to Yellowstone National Park were undoubtedly shocked to see the elk do a particular … odd behavior. Keep reading to learn why he did it.

Is There a Method to This Madness?

Peeing on your face may seem bizarre, not to mention gross, to humans. However, to a male elk, it’s a great way to entice the ladies. This practice is called self-anointing. The bull douses urine all over his face, allowing it to soak into his hair. Then he waits for the distinct scent to work its magic.

It’s a bold strategy, but apparently, it pays off. This approach helps the bull gather a group of females, or cows, into a harem for mating season. Elk mating season, also called rut, takes place during the fall. A bull’s harem typically has around 15-20 cows, but it’s not unheard of for a mature bull to maintain a harem of over 30 cows.

Bugling Elk in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

How to Woo a Lady Elk

In addition to the startling practice of peeing on themselves, there are other ways for bulls to impress the females. Bulls may also pee on the ground and roll in the urine-soaked soil until they’re covered. Antlers are another important aspect of courtship. Bulls lose their antlers every spring and grow a new set to prepare for mating season. Large antlers display dominance and advertise their ability to defend their harem from predators and other bulls.

Bugling is a way for bulls to serenade potential mates. You can hear this mating call in the video above as the bull gets to his feet. It begins as a low bellow, intensifying to a loud, piercing whistle. The bull will call until he runs out of breath, then, he’ll follow up with several grunts or barks. As cows are attracted to the bulls who can bugle the loudest and most often, rival bulls bugle back to drown out their competitors. Bugling elk can be heard for miles, and it’s the primary way bulls communicate their prowess.

Elk Mating Behavior

Throughout mating season, rivals often challenge a dominant bull for his harem. Frequent posturing by the challengers includes bellowing, pacing, thrashing their heads, and swinging their antlers. If the bull accepts the challenge, they will briefly spar until the loser retreats. Fortunately, these encounters rarely end in serious injury or death.

Maintaining a harem takes a great deal of the bull’s energy. Between monitoring his cows to determine which are ready to breed, fighting off challengers, and mating, the bull barely has time to eat or sleep. Some bulls lose up to 20% of their body weight by the end of mating season. After rut ends in mid-October, mature bulls are no doubt ready to return to their solitary roaming to rest up for next fall.


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About the Author

Trina Julian Edwards

Trina is a former instructional designer and curriculum writer turned author and editor. An avid reader and a relentless researcher, no rabbit hole is too deep in her quest for information. The Edwards Family are well-known animal lovers with a reputation as the neighborhood kitten wranglers and cat rescuers. When she is not writing about, or rescuing, animals, Trina can be found watching otter videos on social media or ruining her hearing listening to extreme metal.

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