Eric Burley was at Estes Park in Colorado in late October when he captured on video an elk headbutting a man who walked a little too close to it.
Estes Park continuously warns tourists who come to the park to keep their distance from the elk and other large wild animals. There are many signs up warning visitors, along with wildlife officers there in person telling them about the dangers of getting too close.
The video Eric filmed is just another classic example of someone paying the price for not listening to the warnings. He said he started filming the elk because he noticed they were beginning to get aggressive and in the video, you can hear him warning people to stay away from one bull elk in particular.
“This ain’t good,” you can hear Eric saying in the video. “They’re showing teeth.”
Right after warning a few people in the area, he noticed a visitor walking in the direction of the alpha bull elk of the herd who was getting agitated over another bull elk in the park.
“Watch out sir,” you can hear Eric yell to the man. “Watch out, watch out!!”
The man either didn’t hear Eric’s warning, or he just chose to ignore him and continued walking in the bull’s direction. That ended up being a big mistake he would later regret because the elk lowered its head, and with its big powerful antlers, it pushed the man causing him to fall over a concrete slab.
The guy went tumbling to the ground like a ragdoll and bystanders rushed to help him get back up to his feet. Fortunately, the elk just gave him a small push with its antlers and didn’t hit him hard enough to impale him.
The man got back up to his feet appearing to be okay, just a little shaken up by the whole ordeal. Soon after it happened, Eric sent the video to KKTV who shared it with their audience as a reminder to listen to and follow the park warnings so you stay safe.
KKTV asked Eric how he knew the elk was going to attack someone and his response was, “I used common sense.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife states that visitors are to stay 30 meters (100 feet) away from all elk to stay safe, and in some parks, 50 meters (150 feet) is the distance.
Go ahead now and watch the video below and remember…always follow the park rules and this will never happen to you!