Never underestimate the aggression of an elk in rut. Male elk weigh around 700lbs, pair that with 4 foot antlers and hair trigger temper during mating season and encounters with one of North America’s largest terrestrial mammals can be quite dangerous:
“This happened on September 10, 2021, when my family and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park. We were on our way back to the Airbnb when we saw a lot of park rangers trying to keep people at a certain distance. So I drove back around and parked right in front of the elk. It is during the rutting season so the males were hyper-aggressive. He lunged at two cars before ramming into the ranger’s vehicle.”