Case file 007Fall rut (clips undated)Roadside and parking area

A 700-Pound Bull Elk Worked His Way Down a Row of Parked Cars

Every fall at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, bull elk in the rut turn on vehicles. The National Park Service filmed it.

A bull elk with its head lowered pushes against the front of a parked SUV in a row of cars — A bull elk with his head down against a parked vehicle at Mammoth Hot Springs. Image: National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park.

For most of the year the elk at Mammoth Hot Springs, in the north of Yellowstone National Park, graze on the lawns and ignore the traffic. From early September to mid-October that changes. This is the rut, the mating season, and the bulls are looking for rivals.

A bull elk weighs about 700 pounds and stands about five feet high at the shoulder. His antlers can be just under six feet wide and weigh about 30 pounds. In four short clips released by the National Park Service, a bull puts all of that into parked vehicles.

A large bull elk stands on a lawn among resting and grazing female elk in front of a stone building — A bull among cows on the lawn at Mammoth Hot Springs. Image: National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park.

What the camera recorded

A bull walks up to a parked truck, lowers his head, and pushes his antlers against it.
In another clip, a bull stands in a row of parked cars with his head down against the front of one of them.
Visitors are standing a few yards away, on the far side of the vehicles.
On the lawn nearby, cows rest and graze while a bull stands among them.

Close view of elk antlers pressed against the side of a white truck — Antlers against the side of a parked truck. Image: National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park.

Why it happens

During the rut, bulls bugle to advertise themselves to females and to warn and challenge other bulls. When a rival answers, the two clash antlers, push and wrestle. The fights are loud, but the park says they rarely cause serious injury, and the weaker bull leaves.

A car does not leave. According to the National Park Service, bulls are much more aggressive toward both people and vehicles during the rut, several vehicles are damaged by elk every year, and people who are charged can be hurt. Residents also find bulls sparring with household objects. Park staff have had to capture bulls to remove extension cords, clotheslines, hammocks and badminton nets from their antlers.

What visitors are told

Yellowstone's rule is to stay at least 25 yards from elk, a distance the park compares to two school buses parked end to end. During the rut, staff and volunteers patrol Mammoth Hot Springs to keep people and elk apart, and the park tells visitors to look around corners before stepping out of buildings.

How this was recorded

The clips come from the Yellowstone National Park video library. The Park Service lists each one as public domain and does not give the date it was filmed.

Next case file 008 →A Second Polar Bear Walked Up to One Wearing a Camera and Looked Straight Into the Lens