Wow…
He really got him there. This just goes to show that we really need to be careful around these wild animals, especially in the parks. They are massive and capable of ruining your day in a hurry.
Elk are large animals, with bulls typically weighing between 500 and 1000 pounds, and cows weighing between 300 and 500 pounds. They can grow up to 5 feet tall at the shoulder and can be up to 9 feet long. This makes them the second largest species of deer and one of the largest land mammals in North America.
Elk antlers are a spectacle of their own. The antlers are used primarily for display and combat during the mating season. They can grow up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 40 pounds. The antlers are shed and regrown each year, with the size and shape of the antlers depending on the age and health of the bull.
Elk are a popular attraction for tourists, particularly in areas where they are accustomed to human presence. Yellowstone National Park is home to a very healthy elk population that draws in tourists for miles to see these beautiful creatures.
The excessive close encounters with these wild animals is bound to lead to some bad interactions.
This one from a few years back certainly isn’t a great encounter.
A group of tourists is seen watching two bull elk from a very reasonable distance.
The larger bull elk must have just been tired of being watched and decided he had enough. He turns on a dime and comes running straight for the group of people on the other side of the road.
The people scatter quickly, but one old man is just too slow. The bull elk pushes his massive antlers right into his back causing him to crash down hard.
Luckily it appears that he wasn’t seriously injured, but remember people, these are wild animals… they can and will run you right over.
Wildlife Experts Stumble Across Massive Elk Graveyard In Idaho
This looks like a scene straight from a sci-fi movie.
We’ve all seen the alien movies where the last few survivors stumble across a massive landfill of human remains, and I feel like that’s simply an unwritten rule to add into these types of movies.
Or that scene from the Lion King when Simba learns about the Elephant Graveyard, the one place he’s not supposed to go (and does anyway and winds up getting his dad killed).
However, for a number of officials with Idaho Fish and Game, this fictional movie scene was practically a reality for them here recently.
According to Northwest Sportsman, the officials stumbled upon a massive pile of remains from what they called an “elk boneyard,” near Lewiston at Craig Mountain.
They discovered at least 15 elk heads, as well as fur, broken legs, and a ton of other bones.
They were led to the location via mortality signal from a radio-collared animal earlier this year, and needless to say, they could’ve never fathomed what they would walk into.
Although they found three more collars, senior wildlife technician Mark Shepard noted that it was incredibly difficult to figure out which limbs belonged to which elk:
“I’m sure some scavenging, but with so many bones, hard to say which ones go to which collar.”
He added that a landslide is most likely the cause of this massive gravesite, as there was a lot of rubble surrounding the elk remains:
“With scree material and boulders up to the size of beach balls, it appeared that at least 15 elk were traversing and side hilling near the top of a ridgeline only to be caught up in a landslide.
Bringing them down almost 1,000 feet over just a distance of 300-400 yards, this group of elk was caught up in rubble and snow ultimately resulting in death.
Natural events such as avalanches and rock slides often occur without being observed and it is generally unknown how these events influence wildlife. This event provides evidence that natural events such as this can influence a wildlife population.
Collars placed on multiple species across the state over the span of months and years, allow Idaho Department of Fish and Game to inform management decisions on preserving, protecting, and perpetuating wildlife for continued use and enjoyment of the public.”
Landslide? UFO experiment?
I think I’ll go with the conspiracy theory… It’s a lot more entertaining.
Oregon Man Stumbles Upon The Second Largest Bull Elk In State History
Sheesh, talk about a MONSTER.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, an elk in Union County, Oregon with antlers with a size of 406 6/8 has officially been recorded, giving it the second place record for a Rocky Mountain elk in Oregon.
The elk’s skull and antlers were found by a cone collecting crew on private timberland in the Catherine Creek area this past summer, and was turned into the ODFW.
Mark Penninger, a certified scorer for Northwest Big Game Records Inc., scored the massive elk.
Penninger described the elk as “jaw dropping,” and continued:
“Bull elk of this caliber are incredibly rare in Oregon but it’s great to see they are still around.
This bull is a testament that age, good genetics, and high-quality habitat can produce truly world class elk.”
The ODFW does not track trophy records, but will submit the score to the Northwest Big Game Records Inc. for official placement.
This is the first elk since 1984 to record a size higher than 400, when one was found or harvested by Randy Ryerse in Crook County, which is now number four all time in Oregon with a score of 400 0/8.
The number one recorded Oregon elk was scored at 418 2/8 back in 1942 by Hugh Evans, also in Crook County.
The previous second largest elk, discovered by Jim Sproul, was scored at 401 1/8 and was displayed at the John Day Elks Lodge, before it was burned down.
With the recent Catherine Creek discovery, the top four elk antlers will all be in the 400s.
Pretty impressive elk they got growing up there in Oregon, I’d say.
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Young Elk Tries To Escape Predators In Banff National Park
It’s hard out here for an elk…
Even in a National Park like Banff, where wildlife is so abundant, it’s not every day that you’re gonna witness an animal encounter like this.
On top of that, to catch it all on video… even crazier.
It might not be the best quality, and our dude is no Steven Spielberg, but amazing none the less.
It starts with a shaking video as you notice something on shore on the far side of the river. It ends up being a wolf chasing a calf elk into the river. It must have nipped it because the elk starts crying pretty hard as it gets into the water. Opting to stay dry, the wolf decides not to pursue, and he glances up at the onlookers before retreating back into the woods.
The young elk lives to fight another day…
Not so fast.
Just as you think the elk may have gotten away, here comes the grizzly charging into the water, making its way across the river. It ends up down stream a ways from the elk still fighting its way back to shore.
As the grizzly hits land, it shows you one of the many reasons they are such an incredible animal. In a matter of seconds it ends up right were the elk touched down on shore and chases it back into the water underneath a bridge.
The bikers who are filming are completely in shock and I can’t really blame them. Imagine your morning work out going along enjoying a bike ride in the mountains and you witness a sequence of events like this?
The elk comes out from under the bridge with the bear right on it tail.
“This is the most epic shit ever… This is planet earth.”
Not for the elk…
However, I see no lies here, it is pretty epic. This would be some type of stuff you see on Planet Earth.
As the elk swims down river it gets some distance on the grizzly. Smart move young one, smart move. The elk made it safely to shore, only to find the wolf waiting for him..
Shit…
“At the end of the video the elk gains some distance but ends up on shore with wolf waiting on the train tracks and the grizzly bear eventually catching up.
Not sure exactly who wins but its definitely not the elk.”
Nature can be a cruel, cruel beast.
