Video Captures Mama Elk Facing Off Grizzly to Protect Her Baby
In the wilderness, the grizzly bear is a natural predator — but a viral video is showing that an elk can stand up to it.
On May 21, Shannon Seville and her boyfriend Joel Floyd were visiting the “End of the World” campground in Flagstaff, Arizona when they spotted the drama of a mama elk fighting off a grizzly bear to save her calf.
“I saw the bear out of my peripherals as we drove past and got excited, so we reversed to take a picture. I knew this was a once in a lifetime capture and that other outdoor enthusiasts would really appreciate the share,” Seville told The Arizona Republic.
It was then that they noticed the baby elk.
“Oh, there’s a baby elk up there,” Floyd said in the beginning of the video which Seville posted to Facebook. She wrote, “Bear vs. Elk @ “The end of the world”, Flagstaff. Can’t believe I rolled up on this sh*t!”
The incredible video went viral with 2.6 million views and nearly 42,000 shares.
In the video, you can see the bear dip down a fallen tree branch to get to the baby elk. As the bear swiped towards it, cries from the calf alerted the mama elk. When the elk got close, the bear scurried up the nearby tree. She carefully surveyed the situation, and charged for the bear like a bull towards a matador.
The bear mistakenly came down the tree for a second try. As the calf’s cries increased, the mama elk goes for it and gave the bear a big swipe as if to say, “don’t mess with my baby!”
The conclusion of the video from Shannon Seville
Seville and Floyd were not witnesses to the aftermath while they remained in their car.
“I imagine nature took its course, however it was meant to. We did not want interfere, as that’s how we were raised. We see elk every day and a bear sighting is few and far between; to encounter them together was an amazing rarity. It’s important to respect nature,” Seville told The Arizona Republic.
In the video, there appeared to be a happy ending. As the baby escaped, the bear came down the tree with a look of defeat for another try, but she chased him back up the tree. The calf happily galloped into the woods as the bear could only watch.
