I watch a show called Dr. Oakley Yukon vet and she deals with these all the time. She always talks about how dangerous they and you have to constantly keep your eye on them. This is a sad deal.
Wild animals are dangerous things , I remember seeing lots of tourists doing stupid human tricks on more than once occasion at the Wichita Wild Life Refuge down by Ft Sill. Signs everywhere stating the Bison and Long Horn cattle are dangerous, none the less people park their cars and wander out trying to get close for a photo opportunity.
I have seen some unbelievably stupid things, tourist do trying to get pictures of wildlife! Undoubitedly the stupidest occoured 30 odd years ago, in the Canadian Rockies. My wife and I were driving along in a provential Park, and saw a large group of cars stopped on the road side. What ever was going on, was still too far to see what was happening, a but a large group of people were out of their cars, and had formed a circle around a large brown animal, that had a huge hump on it's back. I ask if my wife could tell what it was, and she said I think it's a Buffalo, grazing! as we got closer it became obvious what it was, a HUGE Grizzily Bear, the size of a Buffalo!!!!!!!!!! The timber had been cleared back for this road, and there was a lot of grass on the shoulder. We pulled up to within 25/30 feet, of this thing as it was grazing like a cow. we could hear him cutting the grass. There were likely 30/40 people out of their cars, that formed a simi-circle around the bear, taking picuures. I stopped, and told my wife if she would get out and get a good picture, I would keep the car running, she, not so politely replied, she would take one through the glass! After taking a few pictures, we went on down the road, didn't want to see what was about to happen. Not a quarter mile down the road we met a ranger doing about 1000mph, trying to get to this amazing scene before someone got l killed! I guesss everyone survived, but I can't imagine why? This bear literally looked like Burt the Bear used in movies, was 4/5 feet tall at the hump, down on all fours!
I took this picture while driving through the Wichita Mountain WLR.
However, I have to admit that I cheated, even though I was outside of the vehicle and standing in the middle of the road. I used the camera and lens to the far left in this photo. The lens is a 200-500mm zoom lens.
I took this one without a zoom lens. Neither me nor this moose had planned on being there. He was being chased by another much larger bull when he decided to take refuge behind the same tree I was hiding behind. I always consider myself lucky and fortunate to walk away from these encounters.I took this picture while driving through the Wichita Mountain WLR.
However, I have to admit that I cheated, even though I was outside of the vehicle and standing in the middle of the road. I used the camera and lens to the far left in this photo. The lens is a 200-500mm zoom lens.
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That’s a legit way
To die. Just saying.
I’d take that over any kind of cancer or heart disease.
To die. Just saying.
I’d take that over any kind of cancer or heart disease.
Good ******* that gives me the willies ...
Yeah...
...but I'm not sure that "willies" best describes what I would feel.
But, imagine being this guy.
To follow up the video, below is the description done by the photographer and the videographer. It involves a sad end for he Elk, but he had apparently shown previous aggressive behavior.
"Update: I've been in contact with the photographer in the above video and we would both like to issue a statement regarding the news of the National Park Service's decision to put the elk down.
My statement: I am deeply saddened by the fate of the elk. It has certainly pulled a black cloud over this whirlwind "viral video" experience.
I spoke to the reporter who broke the story and she assured me the decision was based on a pattern of aggressive behavior that began prior to the incident documented in this video. The behavior was the result of visitors feeding the elk and conditioning them to seek food from humans. This video only serves as an example of the elk's dangerous behavior, not an impetus to it.
Again, it brings me great sadness to learn of this beautiful animal's demise and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it.
I'm looking into a destination for proceeds from this video to help the NPS educate visitors on the dangers and consequences of feeding wildlife.
I also want to be clear that James, the photographer, was not complicit in a behavior that led to the elk's demise, but rather was made an example of the result of such behaviors. The elk approached him from behind, likely looking for food as he was conditioned to do.
Statement from the photographer: I love and respect animals and that's why I photograph them and don't hunt them. I am deeply hurt by the loss of such a beautiful creature that in its own way bonded with me. I looked forward to watching him grow to a mature bull as the years passed.
I'm truly heartbroken to know he is gone.
Original video description:
While photographing elk at sunrise in the Cataloochee Valley of Great Smoky Mountains National Park I turned around to see what appeared to be just a curious young bull sniffing a photographer's camera. I snapped a few frames of the apparent harmless encounter.
But the elk became more interested in making trouble than simply the scent of a camera. He started physically harassing the photographer, escalating to full on head-butts.
I quickly switched the camera to video and let it roll (much of the time wondering when I should seriously consider intervening).
Most people who see this ask why the photographer seems to just take the abuse. I asked him in an email what was going through his head. This is his response:
"My first thoughts were "wow, he's getting pretty damn close here." But I've been up close before without incident. I hoped being still and passive would see him pass on. When he lowered his antlers to me, I wanted to keep my vitals protected and my head down. I felt that standing up would provoke him more and leave me more vulnerable to goring. I think that while protecting myself with my head down, having my head down was a signal that I was rutting with him. I was concerned at first, but when he started rearing back and lunging at me later on, I got scared and pissed off. That's when I wagged my finger at him to cut that **** out. I was relieved to see the Ranger coming.
So I guess at some point if the Ranger hadn't of pulled up, I would have had to disengage the best I could. I've joked with my friends that at least he took me for a buck and not a cow!"
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Man the joke I could make here.Good ******* that gives me the willies ...
That being said I have no idea why cowboys do rodeo bull riding. Having grown up on a farm I have a deep respect for 1 and 2 thousand pound, four legged, walking testosterone containers. I watched dad get a new knee because he walked close to the bull he was hand feeding. He just walked by and smack! the bull kicked him in the knee.
During college, I was tasked with helping out in a rodeo by operating the gates after the bulls left the arena. The bull's owner told me to stand on the ground between two metal 2 inch pipe gates, one of which was bent into a curved crescent shape so there was a perfect pocket for me to stand in. I wouldn't do it and refused several times. He got mad at me and did it himself.
About that time a two thousand pound pissed off Brahma bull came snorting through the lane. The owner tried to shut that bent gate and the bull wouldn't have any of that flattening the gate back to its original shape and we measured the distance between the gates after the guy was extracted by the paramedics. It was 4 inches from one gate to the other. He didn't die but he looked like a tracked vehicle drove over him.
Dad drilled a lot of common sense into me. The rest I learned the hard way, like this guy.
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