Viral Video Shows Colorado Tourists at Their Worst Around Elk in Lake

Every year we see more and more videos of humans interacting with wild animals in really dangerous ways.

Tourons of National Parks on Instagram (Tourist + Moron = Touron) recently shared a video many of us here in northern Colorado have seen firsthand.

People with their phones recording, recently stood way too close to a big bull elk and the rest of the herd. The herd is wading around in Lake Estes. There are kayakers in the back and people sitting just a few feet away in the front. It's as if they have never seen the videos of how these moments go wrong.

Get our free mobile app

Some lists put deer/elk at the top of the list for most deadliest animals, because of the occurrence of goring and trampling. Those antlers are sharp and that animal is a lot faster than you may think.

This time of year, it's rut season. YMCA of the Rockies explains from "mid-September through mid-October, the elk rut is a time when male elk are looking to mate with female elk, also known as cows." So naturally, the big bull elk is a bit more aggressive. Another reason to add some distance between you and this impressive animal.

There have been several very dangerous encounters in Estes Park with elk in the last few years including this older man who was "gently" gored just a few days ago. People's desire for a close-up photo or a selfie has made for some very frightening moments. After all, there are several social media pages devoted to these types of captures for us to all shake our heads at.