When you see this many elk on the move at this rate of speed, you can only assume that they’re running from something.
Out in the wild, animals have to keep their head on a swivel. At any moment, a pleasant grazing session could turn into a race of life and death. This herd of elk went from enjoying their time out in the meadow to sprinting from a predator bearing down on them, and it all happened in a moment’s notice.
The video, which was captured by a well-placed trail camera (Browning trail cam, to be exact), shows a pleasant, scenic area of the mountain shortly before the elk herd moves through from left to right. Elk herds can comprise of around 200 to 400 members, and though this one was on the smaller side, it could still be considered a stampede.
The animals tried to take a shortcut through a pond in the valley, which worked out for some… but made the escape tougher on others. Most of the herd was sprinting at top speed, meaning they were clocking in at around 40 miles per hour. And it’s tough to tell, but it looks like a mountain lion was the predator that was in hot pursuit. If it was a big cat chasing after them, they have a top speed of 50 miles per hour.
Thus, the advantage goes to the mountain lion.
The herd and the wild animal chasing it run out of frame before we can tell how the chase officially shaped up. Though it looked as though the elk had put plenty of room between themselves and the predator behind them, you can’t ever count out a speedy, hungry mountain lion. Many social media users that came across this clip say they heard the high-pitched chirp of a mountain lion, and it does appear that the predator can be spotted running on the far bank.
An elk and a mountain lion in a race is about as fair of a speed matchup as you can get out in the wild. It’s not an ideal situation for this herd, but they are likely aware of the morbid rule of survival. These elk don’t have to outrun the predator chasing them… they just have to outrun the slowest member of the herd:
What a magnificent backdrop for such a scary situation.
As the caption points out, that video was taken back in 2017. That means that a) this chase down was settled years ago and b) that’s a pretty good, quality trail camera. And I’d also like to add that it’s a bit eerie how quiet the meadow gets after the elk herd stampede through. One moment, the pond and the meadow in the valley of the mountain is a quaint and gorgeous place to be. The next? It’s a gladiator ring, and the landscape is helping nature decide whether an elk ends up on the dinner table for a predator or not.
Just another example of nature being both terrifying and beautiful, eh?
