There are plenty of reasons why you should never get near a bull elk at any point during the year… especially during the rut.
When bull elk are in the midst of the mating season, also know as the rut, they become way more ornery and aggressive than usual, causing them to be quite dangerous to humans who approach them looking for a selfie.
And this video right here? This is exhibit A.
According to Cowboy State Daily, Seth Lee of Casper, Wyoming has seen several bull elk fights throughout the years of bowhunting in the state. However, this specific fight he and his friend witnessed recently tops all of them.
He told the outlet:
“I’ve never seen anything like those two bulls fighting. They just wanted to kill each other.
We heard them bugling, bugling, bugling and then ‘wham!’ They started going at it. As soon as we heard the crack together, we started sneaking in closer.”
They then watched the bulls continuously clash, fighting to the death. One of the bulls even brutally flips over the other to the ground.
Lee then noted that the bulls could’ve made their way over to them and stomped them as they continued to fight, and they wouldn’t even realize it.
With that being said, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Deputy Chief of Wildlife Craig Smith weighed in on just how dangerous a situation like this could be:
“Being near two elk locked in a battle could turn into a dangerous situation at any moment.
In situations like these, elk are very focused and have been observed going through fences, trees, ponds or other obstructions that they would ordinarily avoid. If you are in the wrong place, you could be injured or worse.
Death is less common, but certainly happens on occasion.”
Lee said his hunting partner had a bull tag for the area, and wanted to take a shot at one of the fighting bulls, but unfortunately, his own bow had broken earlier, and the arrows he had wouldn’t work properly for the replacement bow.
Although it appeared to be a fight to the death, Lee said it ended in a stalemate.
He also gave the reasoning behind why they were fighting:
“They had a bunch of cows with them to begin with, but as soon as the fight started those cows started running every which way, and we never saw them again.
They were fighting over the ladies, and they ended up scaring all the ladies away.”
And they had a front row seat.
