A cow elk protecting her newborn calf last week charged and kicked a local Banff man in the head when he inadvertently got too close.
Cow elk have their young from mid-May to early July, and will defend and aggressively protect newborn calves if they think they’re in danger, leading to several incidents over the years in which people have been injured.
In this most recent encounter, Parks Canada officials say the elk chased the man and kicked him in the head twice, leaving him briefly unconscious. The incident happened in the Middle Springs neighbourhood in a wooded area above Glacier Drive, Friday (June 2).
“He came down, he saw the cow, and maybe even the calf, and tried to do everything right and skirt around them and give them enough room, but he didn’t give enough space,” said Bill Hunt, head of resource conservation for Banff National Park.
“The cow elk came after him, he fled and had almost made it far enough away where she seemed to be giving up, but then he slipped and fell. As soon as he went down, she came and kicked him twice in the head and reports are he was briefly unconscious.”
Banff EMS responded and took the man to Mineral Springs Hospital, where he was later released.
Wildlife crews have since captured and collared the cow elk involved in last week’s encounter.
However, after immobilizing her, Hunt said the elk took off and they couldn’t find her for about 40 minutes.
“In that time, a magpie pecked at her eyes. The vet came in and sutured up her eye. It wasn’t savable, though,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate incident.”
Because the elk was groggy from the drugs, resource conservation officers worked to get her back with her calf.
“They went and checked the day after and they were together,” said Hunt.
A newborn calf is defenseless to predators for the first three weeks of its life, so cow elk keep newborns well hidden in bushes and shrubs. She visits the calf only a few times a day, standing guard not too far away.
The mother licks her calf all over to make sure it is perfectly clean and clear of any smells that could attract predators. With its lack of smell and spotted coat, a calf is carefully camouflaged in secluded wooded areas.
“The cow will step away 20 or 30 or 40 feet so as not to give away the location of the calf to a coyote or a bear, for example,” said Hunt.
“She’ll be nonchalant, but very much still watching and making sure no one goes near her calf.”
With that in mind, Hunt said a person could inadvertently be on a collision course with the calf.
“It’s extremely important you give them a very large berth,” said Hunt, noting Parks Canada recommends staying at least three bus lengths away, or about 30 metres.
“If you see a cow right now and it’s on its own and doesn’t have a calf, there’s a good chance it has a calf in the woods. Back away the way you came and give a wide berth.”
Report any incidents or sightings of elk within the townsite to Parks Canada dispatch at 403-762-1470.
