Elk charges and knocks man over cement barrier in Colorado town, video shows

A man got too close to an elk and ended up tumbling over a concrete barrier, video shows.

A herd of elk was relaxing in the middle of Estes Park, Colorado, on Oct. 31 when two started to make eye contact and show their teeth, Eric Burley who took the video told McClatchy News.

“That’s when I knew to clear a path between the two and let mother nature take its course,” Burley, who lives in Denver, said. “However a person thought it would be wise to walk right in front of one of the male elks.”

A person walked past the elk within a few feet, video shows. The elk charged, and the man backed up over a cement divider on the ground.

Burley said the person did not appear injured.

“The message here is to respect the space of wildlife and to use common sense,” he said.

Colorado has the largest elk population in the world, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. More than 280,000 elk live in the state.

Elk are the largest animal in the deer family, according to the National Park Service. They can weigh “several hundred pounds.”

The fall is an elk’s breeding season, which is referred to as the rut. Elk can become aggressive during this time.

“The larger antlered males, now weighing up to 1,100 pounds, move nervously among the bands of smaller females,” the National Park Service said. “In this season of excitement, bull elk compete with one another for the right to breed with a herd of females.”

Estes Park is about 5 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park.