Bystander captures video of dangerous encounter between tourists and sparring bull elk: 'Not enough people get impaled'

One of the perks of visiting national parks is that you may come across some amazing wildlife. However, encountering wild animals doesn't mean you should try to get up close and personal with or harass them.

Unfortunately, not everyone realizes this, as a video from one Redditor shows. In the clip, several people have stopped their cars in the middle of the road to get a closer view of a bull elk. A few have even exited their vehicles to surround the animal.

Don't surround a bull elk during the rut… or ever
byu/adventure_gerbil inNationalPark

The original poster stated, "This satellite bull was sparring with another and got chased to the other side of the road. … Some folks decided to park their cars, get out into traffic, and physically surround the animal. You can see in the video the elk is clearly showing a dominance display and is super peeved off."

Reddit users were appalled by the behavior of these tourists. "It bothers me so much that people do this. Leave animals alone," one user said.

Another Redditor was more forceful in their response: "Not enough people get impaled."

While the original poster mentioned there were no injuries from this incident, engaging in this sort of behavior with a wild animal — particularly one as irritated as this bull elk — is still incredibly dangerous.

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The Rocky Mountain National Park website lists in its section on park safety a recommendation of staying at least 75 feet away from wildlife and 120 feet from moose, black bears, or mountain lions. This distance can save lives, as not only can a person end up impaled, but the animal doesn't fare much better.

If a wild animal, such as an elk, has an encounter with a person that ends tragically, the animal could be euthanized, even if the person provoked it. Remembering to keep yourself safe by admiring animals from afar will keep them safe, too.

One Reddit user had an excellent idea for curbing this sort of behavior in national parks, suggesting, "Parks should be giving everybody that even gets out of their vehicle a ticket if you are within 200 yards or whatever it is."

Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty?

Definitely 👍