Young elk, called calves, aredappled with spots. Cow elk often bark and grunt to communicate with their calves, and calves make a sharp,squealing sound. The best known elk call, however, is the bull's bugling. Bugling occurs in the mating season. It consists of a low bellow that ascends to high note, which is held until the animal runs out of breath, followed by gutteral grunts.
Cows also bugle at times.
Before the autumn rutting season the velvet dries and is haed or rubbed off.