Tag: Estes Park

Watch: No shortage of stupidity when humans meet elk

Interactions between humans and elk are a daily occurrence in Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park, so is tourists acting badly.

It’s said that interactions between humans and elk are a daily occurrence in Colorado’s Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park, what with some 3,000 elk living there.

Fall and spring are among the prime viewing times thanks to the mating season followed months later by the calving season, as described by VisitEstesPark.com.

Just as predictable as those seasons is the stupid tourist season, in which people get too close to the wildlife—also a daily occurrence.

Certainly there is no shortage of ignorant people who brush off warnings without a thought, as evidenced by a compilation of videos showing tourists and their close encounters with elk.

Colorado Wildlife & Adventure Videos is the name given a YouTube channel by a Colorado resident, who captured this compilation from Estes Park.

An older man getting a photo of an elk was charged after someone told him, “Sir, I think you need to move back a little bit.”

Another tourist stooped down on the grass for a photo near a group of elk lying around a tree.

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Another tourist was charged by a bull elk.

A man seemed to have a staring contest with a bull elk next to an entry way to a building. He finally walked away.

A mom and toddler were feet away from a bull elk resting its head on the ground looking at them.

A woman attempted to get a photo with an elk walking by.

With all the stupidity by tourists in places like this and Yellowstone National Park, it’s remarkable more people aren’t hurt.

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Watch: Elk not shown proper respect, knocks man over wall

A man who walked within feet of a bull elk as the animal stood guard over his harem was toppled by the animal in a scary incident captured on video.

A man who walked within feet of a bull elk as the animal stood guard over its harem was toppled by the animal in a scary incident captured on video.

The accompanying footage, captured by Eric Burley in the northern Colorado town of  Estes Park, shows the elk flipping the man head over heels after a series of warnings issued by Burley.

Burley, who lives in Denver, said the man was not seriously injured. The footage shows passersby helping him to his feet, placing themselves in danger.

Burley said he and his wife visited the elk herds gathered in Estes Park on Oct. 31. The scene was “peaceful” until another bull elk approached the alpha elk defending his harem.

Burley knew it was time to give the animals a wide berth, but many tourists ignored the warning signs and remained in close proximity.

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“The two male elks made eye contact and started showing teeth,” Burley told FTW Outdoors. “That’s when I knew to clear a path between the two and let mother nature take its course.

“However the person thought it would be wise to walk right in front of one of the male elks. This person also didn’t listen to my commands to watch out and that’s when the person got attacked.”

Viewers can hear Burley’s warnings at 1:18. “Sir, watch out, watch out!” he says, as the man seems intent on walking directly past the elk. The man is knocked over the wall, onto his head and shoulders, at 1:40.

“The person seemed fine, thankfully, but the message here is to respect the space of wildlife and to use common sense,” said Burley, who also put his video to music on TikTok.