Oregon, My Oregon

From the Cowboy State Daily, Tourists Try To Ride Elk Which Are Taking Over Beaches In Coastal Oregon Town

It’s a sight most in Wyoming would consider extremely odd: herds of elk lounging around the beach.

That’s what’s happening in the small Oregon coastal town of Cannon Beach, where elk are taking over the beaches, looking completely out of context in the sand and surf.

And as in Yellowstone National Park, Estes Park, Colorado and other places where people and elk are in close proximity, some people behave stupidly, said James Paino, executive director of the local chamber of commerce.

“We have a lot of visitors who just don't think that it (an elk) is a wild animal,” he said. "I’ve seen people try to put their kids on an elk’s back, or walk up and feed them carrots."

The elk could possibly drawn to the beach seeking saltwater therapy for biting pests.

“It’s not uncommon to see elk going out into saltwater. It’s commonly thought to be therapeutic for external parasites, such as fleas,” said Paul Atwood, a district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Roosevelt Elk live in many regions of Oregon, including Southern Oregon, where we used to own land. We occasionally saw them there, but more often just ran across hoof prints or poo. 

My late lamented brother Ted had an unusual encounter with a big bull in rutting season, once, out of hunting season. He was out hiking the back hills, with his dog Spook, a notorious killer of game and vermin up to the size of White-tailed Deer, and carrying, as was his habit, his rifle (.257 Roberts, IIRC). They encountered the bull in a clearing. Spook chased the bull, the bull chased Spook, Spook chased the bull, the bull chased Spook, and Spook went back to Ted, who stood there with his rifle ready until the bull decided that maybe that wasn't the hill to die on and wandered off.

The elk are also very common at Prairie Creek State Park in Calif, where the often congregate in large numbers near the Park entrance off Highway 101 in the Redwood country. A fair amount of tourist stupidity occurs here as well I've heard.