Quick Take
- Smash isn't just an angry elk. There's a specific trigger that may explain why he keeps targeting vehicles, and it has nothing to do with a grudge. See what triggers Smash →
- A local body shop is seeing more elk-vehicle collisions this year than ever before, and the reason wildlife experts haven't confirmed yet is stranger than you'd expect. Read the body shop's findings →
- Most visitors think keeping a respectful distance from elk is enough, but they are probably unaware that the park's actual safety rule uses a benchmark almost nobody follows instinctively. Check the actual safety rule →
- The rut ends later than most people assume, and the window when you're most at risk on Estes Park roads is still wide open. See the full rut timeline →
Rain was falling on an Estes Park road when a Chevrolet Silverado crept past a bull elk standing near the shoulder. The bull lowered his rack and drove it into the truck’s bedside panel. The driver hit the gas, and the BMW behind the truck made a quick U-turn rather than find out what came next.
According to radio station KYGO, the bull in that video was Smash, a roughly 700-pound elk who has become a fixture of this fall’s rut in the gateway town to Rocky Mountain National Park. He has also been filmed chasing golf carts and charging the side of a maintenance truck. It is tempting to write him off as a grump with a grudge against anything on wheels. But a local body shop says Smash is not the only elk hitting vehicles this year.
What September Does to a Bull Elk
For most of the year, elk are easy to live beside. Then the days get shorter and the rut begins. The National Park Service says heightened testosterone makes bulls more defensive as they compete for dominance, and that they may challenge other elk, people and even vehicles they perceive as threats, according to a recent Unofficial Networks report on park guidance.
Bugling is part of that defense. Research in Rocky Mountain National Park by University of Northern Colorado scientists suggests some bugles tell a rival bull he is too close to a harem and that the caller is willing and able to defend it, as the park describes. A bull in peak rut is guarding something, and he can be quick to treat a vehicle as a threat. Exactly why is less clear.
What a Body Shop Keeps Seeing
Carrie Belt of Estes Valley Collision told 9NEWS that her shop has seen elk turn and run into vehicles more this year than in previous years. She pointed to two possible triggers: an elk that sees its reflection in a car may charge it, and an elk that feels its herd is being threatened may charge as well.
Those explanations come from a repair shop, not a wildlife biologist, so they are best read as local observation rather than settled science. Smash has done this before. OutKick reported that he chased golf carts around this time last year and even landed a smack on one with his antlers. Wildlife photographer Monica Breckenridge, who works with Colorado Wild Adventures, has filmed him chasing cars and golf carts this season.
How Long the Rut Lasts and What To Do
The rut is far from over. The park says the peak generally lasts from mid-September to mid-October, and bugling can carry into November. Rocky Mountain National Park’s annual meadow closures, which keep visitors off five meadow areas from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m., remain in place through October 31.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking visitors to give elk plenty of space and to watch for signs of aggression, according to 9NEWS. The park’s rule of thumb is to stay back at least 75 feet, about two bus lengths, and approaching wildlife in the park is illegal even for a photo. If a bull does charge, park guidance calls for getting into a vehicle or behind a tall, sturdy barrier as quickly as possible. And if an elk changes its behavior because of you, you are already too close.
More bulls are likely to go after vehicles before the rut ends this year. Until then, golfers, drivers and photographers get the same advice: give elk more room than seems necessary, and let the animal move on its own.
