It's becoming increasingly clear. Wild animals like elk don't want to pose for your photo shoot or be a personal source of entertainment.
Instagrammer Kendra Neef (@kn.wildlife) shared yet another example of tourists getting far too close with nearly catastrophic results for themselves and their car.
In the video, you can see a passenger opening their door after stopping a mere six or seven feet in front of a wild elk. The animal is anything but amused, especially when the passenger appears to make a move to get out of the car.
With impressive reflexes, it charges to within inches of the car and passenger with its imposing antlers. The passenger quickly reverses course, closes the door, and the car takes off as the elk continues to mount charges.
As the scene plays out, you can hear the video-taker laughing. The Instagrammer indicates this is a familiar scene, describing it in the caption as "annual rutting season nonsense."
"Watch out for the big guys. They don't mess around," the caption warned. They divulged further that the incident took place in the Canadian Rockies.
While it was a laughing matter for the user filming it, it would've been anything but that for the tourists had the wild elk taken a little bit more offense.
The temptation to approach wild animals for picture or feeding opportunities remains high for many visitors. The truth is getting too close poses major dangers for you and the animals, who could be euthanized after attacks, even if provoked. This is especially heightened during rutting (aka mating) season when the animals may be especially aggressive and dangerous.
As human and wildlife interactions increase, tourists need to be even more mindful to leave wild animals alone. There's a reason these sorts of behaviors are expressly forbidden in the Canadian Rockies. Showing proper respect for wild animals and nature is a key part of vacationing responsibly.
Commenters on Instagram were taken aback by the risky behavior of the visitors.
"Enjoy the wildlife from a distance. How hard is that?" a user asked.
"When will people ever learn?" another Instagrammer wondered.
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