what sound does an elk make?

Yesterday Aaron and I drove up to Longs Peak and Estes Park. They are about an hour north but yesterday was the perfect day for it. The weather warmed up a little and it was a blue sky. We drove up the mountain to the Longs Peak trail head and walked around that area for a bit. It was so full of trees and a beautiful view. From there we drove down a little to get a better view of Longs Peak and the "Diamond" Face as they call it.

After this we drove on to the little mountain town of Estes Park. A complete tourist community but it is still pretty and kind of like downtown Anchorage, lots of t-shirt stores. We wanted to find a local spot to eat. So where else would the locals go in this tiny town. Well McDonalds of course. While leaving here this family came out and started pointing at my license plate and yelling and talking. They looked as if they wanted to ask me questions so we drove away as fast as possible. Why is Alaska still so mysterious to people? We are not a foreign country okay....

So from here we drove a bit and then saw a group of people gathered watching a huge herd of Elk on the golf course. We parked and joined them. Elk make the strangest sound. It sounds like either a bird, a dying cow, or a screaming child. We walked along a pretty trail covered in leaves and then by the reservoir with the bluest water ive seen in a while. On our way back to the car we stopped to watch the elk one more time. Here we learned that it was mating season... The one head hancho elk would spot a fine lady, keep her in sight, slowly sneak along behind her, and then try and mount her before she had time to get away. A few of them bolted but we did have the chance to watch him find his match. I was grossed out as were some of the families around me, so we left and laughed about it all the way back to the car.

So what sound does an ELK really make?