Last week while vacationing in Florida I received a phone call to inform me of the passing of a Yellowstone icon, the infamous bull Elk number 6. Number 6 was found dead on Sunday February 11, 2009 in Gardiner, Montana, just north of Yellowstone.Officials believe the large Elk tripped while trying to cross a fence and somersaulted onto his back, where he was pinned between rocks with his antlers beneath him and suffocated.
Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said number 6 weighted an unusually hefty 725 pounds. He was believed to be at least 15 years old, Elk usually live 13 to 18 years.
Number 6 was best known for venting his sexual frustrations on rival bull Elks and cars. Just last rut late one evening while returning to our camp site we seen number 6 running through Mammoth with a tail light stuck to one of his antlers. He was responsible for damaging many cars over the years in the Mammoth area. In 2004 and 2005 park officials removed his antlers during the rut to make him less dangerous.
For those that never got to see number 6 and his antics during the rut missed a true show and for those that did they will never forget the hours of entertainment he gave them.
With his passing it is believed that number 10 could now be the king of Yellowstone, I have photographs of him and will post them in the future. For the amount of times I seen number 6 I was surprised that I did not have more photos of him and none of him alone.
Elk Number 6 is survived by a large harem of cows and many off spring.
11 comments:
I am sad to hear this. An end of an era. You took magnificent photos of him and I look forward to others in the future.
Interesting post. I also looked at you sky watch and fell in love. Real beauty. And I saw the bird, too! And, the sun, or is it a moon?
Beautiful elk with a huge rack. I didn't have the pleasure of seeing him, so I'm glad for your photos.
Now that is a sad passing. I had not seen this in the news. Thanks for posting. I guess the massive antlers finally done him in.
That is sad. I have never made it to Yellowstone yet.
Beautiful series of images on this fella. I saw this news in Willard's blog as well. What a loss.
Nice tribute to a magnificant animal.
He is possibly the most famous bull elk ever. Some of the pa bulls get locally famous but they don't recieve the tourist exposure like those of Yellowstone.
A fitting tribute to a great bull. I only saw him once but he made a definite impression on me.
Our Pennsylvania Bull "Fred" would be comparable, but not as many visit there each year, and he is a much more docile and predictable animal. Fred too is quite old and his reign as the most famous Pennsylvania bull will soon be over.
Also, congrats on the stunning Florida Sunrise. Great Job!
I read about this in Willard's blog last week. One year I saw him after the NPS cut off his antlers due to his aggressiveness towards tourists and some vehicle damage he caused. Nice gator and sunrise. Blue Skies.
I am sorry I did not see him. I was glad to hear the accident was not due to tourist that went beyond their limits. That was what I was expecting to hear.
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Are those real!? I'm such a city girl I can't image seeing them anywhere like that.
So sorry to hear about that elk. How sad. :-(
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