Yellowstone Flashback: When a Bull Elk Challenged a Snowmobile
When I think of my favorite viral moments from Yellowstone National Park, this is among the best of the best. It's that fun time when a bull elk took a severe dislike to a snowmobile and decided to challenge it (and everything else) to a fight.
This happened almost exactly 5 years ago in Yellowstone. The YouTube person documented the date as February 20, 2016. His play-by-play is almost as good as the video itself as he incorrectly guesses that the bull elk is about to back off. No, he didn't.
That escalated quickly. At first, the bull elk seemed to feel the guy on the snowmobile was a threat. Then, it was the snowmobile. Then, it was the van the guy who was recording the video was in. Everything seemed to be a threat to his territory. Was there a lady nearby he was protecting and/or trying to impress? Doesn't matter because he wants to fight.
20/20 hindsight being what it is, the snowmobilers and the van driver would have been better off just moseying on down the road instead of remaining near this bull. He wasn't about to relent until everyone everywhere recognized that he was the boss.
In all fairness to the guy in the van, it appears he was trying to act as a buffer to snowmobilers behind him to allow them to pass safely while he "distracted" the elk. Eventually, the elk decided to retreat down from the roadway and return back to life just as an elk. All's well that ends well.