We see a lot of unusual things in our work here at Wide Open Spaces, but a cow elk pestering a man cutting wood with a chainsaw in an effort to get some head pats is not one of them. I seriously can't believe I just wrote that sentence. However, it really did happen, as a viral video shared by LADbible Australia proves. The video starts with the elk standing right next to the man as he saws through a log.
Apparently, the noise of the saw does not scare the elk one bit because she continues to stand there. Eventually she flops down on the ground and extends her head towards the man's hands like she's asking for a good head pat in the same way a house cat would. It's one of the strangest elk videos you will likely ever see.
Mark that down on your list of things you don't see every day. It seems rather obvious to us that the elk was likely either raised by humans or is tame and inside an enclosure that isn't obvious in the video. Either way, it's not exhibiting normal elk behavior. These animals normally like their personal space away from people and are not afraid to charge or thrash someone who gets too close for comfort. Clearly, this is something you should never attempt with any wild animal, as it could turn dire quickly.
Assuming it was raised by people, it's still unusual for an animal to not be frightened by the sound of heavy duty gas-powered equipment. This guy must truly be her favorite human for her to keep pestering him like that. It's rather obvious she doesn't realize the dangers of the saw. This just goes to show that every time we think we've seen it all, the Internet throws a new curveball into the mix. We just wonder what will pop up next to top this one!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram For original videos, check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
