Fall ‘eerily calm’ in Yellowstone
Few cars attacked after death of aggressive elk
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Visitors to northern Yellowstone National Park have been filing a lot fewer unusual auto damage claims during this fall’s elk mating season compared with recent years.
The reason is last winter’s demise of elk No. 6, a large bull with sprawling antlers that was famous for attacking tourists’ cars in the Mammoth area while strutting his stuff during mating season. No. 6 caused thousands of dollars in damage to cars over the years and even attacked two tourists, knocking one down and causing the other to need stitches.
No. 6 was found dead just north of Yellowstone in February. He had tripped over a fence, flipped onto his back and suffocated while pinned between boulders, Yellowstone officials said.
The rut, or mating season, in northern Yellowstone began in late August and has just about ended. There have been relatively few reports of elk attacking cars this year.
“It was certainly eerily calm this fall compared to when No. 6 was around,” said Yellowstone elk biologist P.J. White.
There was speculation after the death of No. 6 that elk No. 10 – another large bull known by the number on his ear tag – would become the local king of the elk. But that hasn’t happened. No. 10 and his harem of cow elk have kept a mile or two south of Mammoth, away from a lot of the mating drama.
A couple of young bulls have been up-and-comers during this year’s rut. None, however, has been as feisty as No. 6 or even No. 10.
“Folks kind of looked around and said, ‘Where are the elk?’ and realized it just wasn’t going to happen,” said Troy Davis, a Yellowstone biological technician.
Not that the new bulls aren’t large and potentially dangerous. Park spokesman Al Nash, who lives just east of park headquarters in Mammoth, said one of the young bulls took a nap under his kitchen window earlier this year.
“There was no way for me to get out my front door, my garage door, or get to my vehicles in my driveway until he moved,” he said. “For a couple hours, I was kind of stuck.”
The aggressiveness of No. 6 made him a favorite among tourists. His death was widely mourned, including on a Facebook page called “Ode to No. 6,” where people have been sharing photos and reminiscences of the animal.
“Six was as close to Elvis as any native ungulate has ever been,” Davis said.
The carcass of No. 6 has been in the possession of a Gardiner, Mont., woman who owns the land where he died, said Steve Wagner, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Wagner said the foundation offered to pay a taxidermist to do a head-and-shoulder mount in exchange for loaning the mount for display in the foundation headquarters in Missoula. The woman has not yet said what she will do with the elk, he said.