A jogger in Banff fended off an aggressive cow elk by punching it in the nose, prompting Parks Canada to remind residents and visitors that female elk can be aggressive when protecting newborn calves.
At the same time, provincial conservation officers have put up a closure in the Larch Island area in Canmore after there were some aggressive encounters involving two or three cow elk defending their young.
Female elk have their young from mid-May to early July, and they will aggressively defend their newborn from any real or perceived threat. In doing so, people can and do get injured when they inadvertently get too close.
Parks Canada officials say there have been several reports of aggressive elk around Banff in the last few weeks, including a cow elk coming dangerously close to a male runner on a trail by the Bow Falls viewpoint Saturday (June 11).
“People can be riding their bikes, walking down a path or walking a dog and find they are unknowingly near a calf and the mother elk will approach aggressively,” said Erik Knight, a resource management supervisor in Banff’s wildlife management branch.
“In this case, the gentleman approached close enough that he had to act defensively. He punched the elk in the nose and that caused it to move off.”
Meanwhile in Canmore, provincial conservation officers closed off an area of Larch Island where two or three cow elk have given birth to calves.
Conservation officer Andy Rees said people are asked to respect the closure, which is marked off with tape, let people know the area is off limits. They will monitor the area daily and lift the closure when it is safe or the elk have moved out.
“We’ve had two or three cow elk on Larch Island area with calves and we’ve had situations where there were some standoffs,” he said.
“They are protective of their little ones and we want to give them space and we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
An elk calf is defenseless to predators for the first three weeks of its life, so its mother keeps it well hidden in bushes and grasses. She visits the calf only a few times a day, standing guard not far away.
The mother licks her calf all over to make sure it is perfectly clean and clear of any smells that may attract predators. With its lack of smell and spotted coat, the calf is carefully camouflaged in tall grass.
A cow elk is always ready to strike out her sharp hooves if a calf is threatened, or to act as a decoy to lead a predator away from the calf. Once the calf has gained its running legs, it re-joins the herd with its mother.
“During this time, the mothers will basically find an area they think is safe where they will stash calf,” Knight said. “Any time there is a perceived threat, the mother will act aggressively.”
Knight said as a result of the June 11 incident involving the jogger in Banff, staff thought it was best to move the cow and its calf away from the busy area for safety of the animals and the public.
He said one staff member picked up the calf while three others fended off the aggressive cow by waving hockey sticks in the air and shooting paint balls near the female elk, but not at her.
“We transported the calf to one of the trucks and slowly moved from the initial site up to the Sulphur corridor. We had to keep mom interested through the whole movement process, but she just followed,” he said.
“We set the calf down and backed off and the two were reunited.”
Parks Canada recommends keeping 30 metres, or three bus lengths, away from elk for safety.
Knight said it’s also important for dogs to be on leash at all times.
“Cow elk will often associate dogs with natural predators because they usually encounter wildlife such as wolves and coyotes,” he said.
“We quite often see where there’s a really aggressive encounter, the elk have keyed in on dog walkers. It’s really important to have dogs under physical control.”
Any elk sightings in the Banff townsite should be reported to Banff National Park dispatch at 403-762-1470.
In Canmore and Kananaskis, people are asked to call Kananaskis Emergency Centre at 403-591-7755.
