What to do when an elk charges you while walking the dog
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Photos: Emma Hurt/Axios
I'm an Axios reporter who just moved from Atlanta to Evergreen — about 40 minutes west of Denver.
- And within my first week, like some sort of newbie cliche, I was charged by an elk.
Catch up quick: While walking my two dogs up my mountain road, we saw a lone elk in the street. I immediately got us behind a parked truck and waited. The elk moved slightly away, and I thought I could give it enough space and squeeze by on the opposite side of the road.
- The elk did not like that. She came right up to us as we hid behind trees. Pretty quickly we just started sprinting through a neighbor's yard to get away until the elk stopped chasing us.
Yes, but: I still had to take that road to get home. I asked some other neighbors working on their house for advice and that's when I first heard the words "calving season."
- As we carefully rounded the same corner to head back home, she turned from 50 yards away and bolted towards us. So we started running again.
Zoom in: By sheer luck, a neighbor driving by sped up, laid on her horn and got her car between us and the elk — who was only a few yards away by then.
The big picture: I've since learned a lot, including about the many reports of moose and elk gorings and tramplings.
- I know now that elk can basically see 360 degrees, that calving season can last through August and it's when a single elk is most likely to be aggressive.
Plus: Elk calves' predators include wolves and coyotes. Canines. That's why our dogs seem like a major threat.
Pro tip: At the advice of Colorado Parks and Wildlife I've ordered this airhorn to carry, and this season I am sticking to more populated trails and main streets.
- A noise-maker is your best bet at scaring a charging animal away with enough time to escape, a kind staffer said.
The bottom line: These animals are beautiful — but should be scary to us. That "rule of thumb," to make sure an animal is far enough away that it's not bigger than your thumb, is real.
- And if you see an elk or any other large mammal in your path, particularly if you've got a dog — just turn around, folks.