Let the bugling begin: Pennsylvania elk webcam goes live

Elk bugling season is heating up and can be seen and heard on a live webcam provided by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the video company HDOnTap.

The webcam is stationed in Elk County, State Game Lands 311, in a field that elk frequent.

The webcam went live Wednesday and can be accessed at pgc.pa.gov.

Viewers can double their odds of viewing elk: A Murrysville company, PixCams, which operates wildlife webcams in the region, also has two live elk webcams in Elk County.

The Elk Country webcam will run until the end of the bugling season, likely sometime in mid-October.

The top time to see elk on camera is late in the afternoon. Elk are most active at dawn and dusk.

The elk rut and bugling are triggered by day length. The rut typically begins around the middle of September and carries through early to mid-October, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The bugling of the bulls and shoving matches are a part of the breeding season. Battles rarely end in serious injury, according to the game commission. Bull elk preside over harems of 15 to 20 cows.

There are about 1,350 elk in the state that live in Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and Potter counties, according to the game commission.

Thousands of visitors flock to the northcentral part of the state in September and October to witness the breeding season.

“And while there’s nothing quite like seeing a giant bull up close, or feeling your rib cage resonate as it lets loose an ear-splitting bugle, the opportunity again has come to get a glimpse of Pennsylvania’s prime time for elk — without ever having to leave home,” Travis Lau, game commission spokesman, said in a news release issued Wednesday.

The livestream is made possible by HDOnTap with the help of the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, according to the game commission.

The game commission’s webcam page also features information on Pennsylvania’s elk and where to view them. It provides a link to the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors website, which provides information for anyone visiting elk country.

The game commission reminds visitors to the elk range to always be “Elk Smart.” Give elk space and never feed them in order to ensure the welfare of the herd.