Elk Crosses Busy Intersection to Protect His Harem


Occurred on October 5, 2020 / Estes Park, Colorado, USA

Info from Licensor: "A large bull elk was resting contentedly in the park in Downtown Estes Park among his sizable Harem during rutting (mating) season. A second bull elk spied the harem and saw what he thought were easy pickings, but when he pranced down the street heading over to the harem, the first bull elk soon made it clear, 'not so fast, Bud!!', and chased him across the intersection. If you listen closely you can hear it grazing the front of a car entering the intersection as he races across the street with the first elk in pursuit. Then when the first elk was satisfied his rival is adequately vanquished, he retreated to corral his harem back into the park. However, on reflection, the first elk decided that the rival elk, now grazing a 100 yards or so across the street, was still too close for comfort; so he sounds a classic Elk bugle, a classic display of dominance during the rut, and headed out again into traffic across the intersection toward the rival Bull who he chased further away before returning to protect his harem on the island."