“Stairway to Heaven” is about the perfect caption for this video… unfortunately. It’s always a little heartbreaking to see a young animal get killed by a much larger predator, but it’s yet another reminder of the brutality of nature, and what these big beasts have to do to survive.
And unfortunately for elk calves, they’re always on the menu.
In this video, you have a young elk calf in Yellowstone National Park, that appears to have already been significantly injured before the video even starts.
A black bear has a strong bite on the calf’s neck, and it’s obvious the calf is helpless as it continuously yells for help… it’s tough to watch. The black bear then begins to savagely drag the calf up a stairway, away from the onlooking tourists, who are standing there, both horrified and amazed.
The description to the video explains it all:
“A black bear drags away a live elk calf in Yellowstone National Park. In late May and early June, bears in Yellowstone eagerly hunt for newborn elk calves. The calves are too small and slow to escape when they are young, making them easy prey.
It is estimated that up to 50% of all elk calves born in a spring are killed and eaten by predators.”
You hear that? Half of all elk calves don’t survive the spring. It’s unknown what unfolded after the elk calf was dragged up the stairs, but needless to say, it probably wasn’t too pretty.
Nature is metal, indeed.
