WATERTON, ALBERTA–(Marketwire — Sept. 21, 2009) — Alberta’s most spec­tac­u­lar watch­able wildlife rit­ual takes place each fall in Waterton Lakes National Park. More than 1,000 elk come out of the moun­tains from as far away as Montana to con­verge as one huge herd for their autumn mat­ing ritual.

What makes this event so spe­cial is that you can watch it hap­pen. This is Alberta wildlife view­ing at its finest.

The mat­ing grounds are a large grass­lands right along­side the Park entrance road, per­fect for elk view­ing. You can see male elk joust­ing with their antlers, you can see harem gath­er­ings of female elk, and you can hear the majes­tic bull elk bugle their dominance.

About the Waterton Wildlife Weekend — Eco-Tourism

Looking for an eco-tourism adven­ture? The Waterton Wildlife Weekend offers orga­nized oppor­tu­ni­ties for vis­i­tors to see, pho­to­graph and learn about the region and its wildlife. Guided field excur­sions by horse­back, foot and bus take vis­i­tors into the field, with highly qual­i­fied guides lead­ing the way.

Additional events include work­shops on Wildlife Photography, Bison, and Archaeology, as well as read­ings by Alberta authors Kevin Van Tighem and Sid Marty.

Quotes

“Come to Waterton in September and you can see some one thou­sand elk dur­ing the mat­ing sea­son, many of them joust­ing, on an open grass meadow.” Beth Russell-Towes, Wildlife Festival Organizer

“To pho­to­graph an elk in Waterton, you have a higher chance of suc­cess with find­ing that ani­mal in a meadow, a flat place, early in the morn­ing or late in the evening. You will find hun­dreds, because September is when they rut.” Steve Harrington, Wildlife Photography Instructor

To see a full sched­ule and reg­is­ter online, go to TrailoftheGreatBear.com.

Related Travel Deals from Travel Alberta Holiday Card:

• Reconnect with relax­ation in Waterton
• Fall Getaway in Waterton
• Fall into Waterton
• Fall Getaway in Waterton
• End of Season Special in Waterton

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