GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WY — Grand Teton National Park ranger had to put down an “obstinant” elk after determining him too big a safety hazard.
Teton Park spokesperson Denise German said the park received two separate calls Tuesday morning, March 19, that a bull elk was blocking the road and charging vehicles. The elk shattered one car’s window and punctured another’s radiator.
Park officials closed the East boundary road north of Kelly to give the bull elk some space and tried to get him out of the road. “We make quite a few efforts to help the elk,” German said. But the efforts didn’t work.
“He just wouldn’t go anywhere,” German said. “And if anybody got close to him, he wanted to charge.”
It also became increasingly obvious that the elk was in poor shape. It was a long winter, and his body composition was bad. Park rangers made the call to put the elk down later that afternoon on March 19.
