The rutting season of the American elk begins with preliminary activities by the bulls in mid-August with the peak occurring from mid-September to mid-October. At night, an elk's bugle can be one of the most terrifying sounds on earth. For the bulls, the mating season is a time of constant vigilance, fighting, chasing and breeding. It is during this period of several weeks that they suffer a weight loss of more than 100 pounds. The first bugling elk I had ever seen was in Yellowstone Park. The scenery was exactly as it is in my painting, not far from Old Faithful. - CB