Hunting party hears vocalization, wood knocks; finds elk carcass, off Gold Camp Road near Victor, in Pike Nat'l Forest witnessed in Teller County, Colorado

Open Map

In November 2001, I was guiding for a husband and wife team and was also accompanied by my own wife during a elk hunt. That morning we had located a herd of elk in some remote country and had stalked to their location to find that it was only cows. Since we had bull tag only we did not pursue but instead went out on the point of a mountain to glass for any potential bulls. As our party was sitting and glassing I called periodically hoping for a response from a bull. To my surprise (all of our surprise) we heard a low guttural moan. At first I thought it to be a bull bedded down but the second time I realized that it was no bull at all and could not possibly be a bear. I immediately went toward the noise to confirm what ever had made it and found no animals, no elk, deer, bear, etc. Shortly after hearing and investigating the sound I moved the party up the mountain to a aspen grove where I knew mid-day bulls would visit to eat. Shortly after positioning the hunters my wife and I too...