Tourist Pets Bull Elk At Estes Park In Colorado, Locals Warn Against It

YouTube / CBS Denver

Woman Attempts To Pet Wild Elk

A woman visiting Estes Park in Colorado was recently captured on video attempting to pet a massive wild bull elk right outside a country mart and it has caused quite the controversy.

Many people travel from all around the world to Estes Park specifically to see the amazing wildlife. However, the locals know from experience and are very vocal about telling people that it is never a good idea to attempt to touch or feed the wild animals. 

And here’s why, specifically for this situation. First off, the 700-pound elk could have trampled her or gored her to death simply thinking it was protecting itself. If that would have happened then Wildlife authorities would have had to step in and kill the elk due to it now being “dangerous” to humans. They can’t have other visitors being killed by the same elk, so they’d be forced to put it down. Realistically, they both could have died that day. 

This woman was clearly not from the area though and walked straight up to the giant who towered over her. You’d think she’d be intimidated but she wasn’t.

Luckily for her, when the elk raised its head in attempts to get her to stop petting him she ran off into the store. One local from Estes Park told CBS4, “If you value your life, do not start petting wild animals. You do not know what they are going to do. Stay at a decent distance. Watch them, enjoy them, respect them and keep your distance.”

Watch The Woman Try To Pet The Elk Below