Most believe they're one in the same, but a glug & a glunk are used by bulls at different times. They sound very similar but are in fact different just as a grunt sounds similar to a chuckle but have 2 different meanings entirely! Grunts are meant for intimidation or warning & chuckles are an invite or gathering together sound used by bulls. Chuckles would be heard most frequently when you're cow calling a bull & he gives you a short scream followed by chuckling. Grunts are not heard at this time as bulls do not challenge or fight cows!
Back to Glugs! (grin) Here's where they differ! Tending/Rutting Glugs are only used by bulls when in close to cows as he courts them, these are cows generally in his harem! As they near breeding you will both see & hear him nestling up to these cows or cow literally making body contact as he smells them & rubs the side of his body against their sides & back. At this time the bull does not use glunking, he uses glugs. I've seen & studied elk for years & have never heard this sound used for collecting cows or inviting others to him or the established harem, this is where glunking comes in.
On the other hand Glunking is used for a variety of reasons. Too, note that when glunking is used it's rarely ever used by itself as are glugs. A bull can & normally will glunk, scream, chuckle, pant, rake trees brush & give off cow mewing in any random order. He may use 2 of these together or 3-4 different sounds depending on his urgency & level of excitement! I've watched on many occasions bulls licking the air as they glunked around their nearby harem as well as them coming into our very excited or pleading cow calls, I believe they are actually trying to smell & taste the air as they glunk & come in excitedly with their heads held high on approach to see if they can pick up the desirable estrus taste or scent!
Bulls Glunk for dominance or representing dominance to both impress & collect cows. Cows choose what bull they want to be with they are not ball & chained to a specific bull. As bulls glunk they do this in an effort to show superiority, this will attract cows & make them feel secure. Another bull can come in & literally try to call a bulls cows from him with cow mews, glunks, short screams & raking, this is in an effort to pull the herd bulls cows from him or at least one or two without actually fighting the bull for them! This can attract cows to this new bull & check him out, this is why this new bull would start raking, it's a displaying action to show these cows who he is & what he has to offer, this is their way of picking up dates! (grin) Bulls will also glunk when moving his cows from danger or from one place to another especially in heavy cover, this gives the group direction & they recognize his glunk that this is their bull or leader.
Another sign & scenario to listen for to tell the two apart is that glunking bulls will not only add other elk sounds with it but it's very common for them to be moving around or covering a bit of distance while using it as they seek out or are looking for another cow.It is no uncommon to slip in on Rutting elk & hear this glunking coming from two different bulls as they both try their best to represent dominance & win the cows over! Tending glugs on the other hand are generally used when the bull & his cows are in an area where they are staying in the same spot as he tends to them or courts them such as in or near the bedding or feeding area. Rare would be if two bulls were using tending glugs in the same herd in normal hunting areas.
As you can see here there is a true difference here in glunking & glugging. All one has to do is hear these sounds or any other sounds with these & it can help determine which sound is being used. This can paint a picture in your minds eye as to what's happening without ever visually seeing what's happening in heavy cover!
We use these types of sounds every year in selective encounters. Just imagine moving in on a herd & getting into 50yd-80yd in good cover & wind & start with a couple bull mews a short scream & glunks, what do you think the herd bull will do? He'll go ballistic!!! You'd better be ready with an arrow nocked because he will storm you fast!! No way will he allow any cows to head your way, instead he will be the defense mechanism & get between the cows & you, there's no slipping around trying to get your wind he will come at you on a string! It's a true slap in the face for another bull to come right into his area & call his cows from him! This questions his dominance & the right to keep & breed his cows! It's game on!!! (grin)
For the record I have quite a bit of footage of both sounds being used by bulls under the varying situations that support my conclusions, plus we use them every year with great success in addition to others! Bulls on the ground are a great indicator!!!
Just think back on the many occasions you've heard either sound & you will see it will match my explanation here! I did work like crazy trying to get this sound on a file so any who wanted could hear it could but I failed as I'm not very good at that sort of stuff! (grin) So click on link to listen to this Tending Glug!
Tanner's Bull Elk Spike ElkNut1
