Have you ever seen an elk get into the Halloween spirit?
October is often referred to as “Spooky Season,” and it’s actually one of my favorite times of the year. The candy, the costumes, the 7-foot-tall skeleton yard decorations… it all plays an important role in making the weeks leading up to Halloween feel like Halloween.
Now I’m not familiar with wild animals celebrating the holiday, but this elk in Estes Park, Colorado evidently does. It’s going viral for accidentally (or purposefully?) giving its antlers a spooky upgrade, and I’m a big fan of the move. There’s nothing like seeing a wicked witch hanging on to an antlered animal as it struts about through nature.
And to all those worried about the safety of the elk, I can promise you it is a-okay and was freed from the witch’s hold not long after the video below was taken.
It’s estimated that over 280,000 elk live in Colorado, which is enough to give the state the honor of housing the largest concentrated population of elk in the world. Believe it or not, that many elk bring in tourists from all over the planet, and one of the more popular places they visit is Estes Park, Colorado – which is referred to as the “Elk Capital of the World.”
Safe to say, if you hang around Estes Park and the surrounding Rocky Mountain area, you are bound to see some elk.
And right now, seeing an elk (especially a bull) in person might be a little dangerous. It’s normal for bull elk to be more aggressive and vocal from September to November. They starting “acting up” during that period of time to establish dominance, and in hopes of securing a female mate.
That could explain why this bull elk got into a tussle with Halloween decor. The large animal might have seen it as a threat, and because we’re currently in the middle of the rut, the male elk probably decided to “take care of” the problem itself. And it’s tough to say who won the fight… did the elk come out victorious because it knocked down – and inadvertently stole – the Halloween decoration? Or can the witch say it won because it’s still holding on?
All we really know is that the elk looked extra-spooky walking around with the hanging Halloween decor on its antlers, and the Colorado photographer says that the bull was successfully able to shake it off shortly after they captured this clip:
“This bull elk decided to join the spooky season a little early by getting a Halloween decoration tangled in his rack! Luckily, he managed to shake it off within a few minutes and went on his way unharmed.”
I’m glad that a) we got to see an elk dressed up for Halloween and b) the bull was able to free itself from the witch’s grip. That could have been bothersome for the wild animal if it stuck around.
And his elk video reminds me, I’ve got to get my own Halloween costume for this year locked in here in the next couple of weeks. I like the way this elk thinks though… just wander around without a plan and see what sticks. That’s probably what I’ll do.
