Before you start trying to stage-direct someone, you probably should have a little awareness of who or what you’re dealing with. In the case of one reckless tourist, things nearly turned disastrous when they channeled their inner Steven Spielberg on a wild elk.
Instagram user Trisha Taggart (@tetonmama) captured the baffling footage and indicated in the caption that the incident took place at Grand Teton National Park near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
As the video begins, the wild elk is peacefully eating in the woods before the visitor suddenly approaches. Their presence has caught its attention, and the animal looks up as they get a mere few yards away.
Undeterred, the tourist makes the wild decision to point at the elk and try to direct it to the right, deeper into the woods. The wild elk instantly takes exception to the presumptuous behavior.
As it feigns a charge with its antlers, the man’s bravado vanishes instantly, and he scurries off quickly. With the tourist gone, the elk then does a little head-shake move almost to assert “that’s what I thought” in reaction to being ordered around by a human.
It’s worth pointing out that the tourist’s actions were opposite of Grand Teton’s safety guidelines. Direct visitors are advised to keep a distance of 25 yards from wildlife and not approach them.
While the tourist came out unscathed outside of a bruised ego, many visitors at other national parks haven’t been so lucky after encroaching on wildlife. Following safety rules isn’t just good for preserving your well-being; it’s better for the animals. Even if provoked, they can be subject to euthanization if things turn violent.
Puffing out your chest in front of a wild animal, feeding one, or trying to capture a better up-close picture simply isn’t worth it.
Instagram commenters were astonished by the tourist’s behavior, and knew who they were rooting for in the video.
“Team elk,” one wrote.
“So gratifying when the camera’s on for a moment like this,” another user chimed in.
Another commenter was still perplexed: “Did he really try to tell that elk to go away?”
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