A ‘unicorn’ in an Arizona national park? Not quite — but photos show a wild look-alike
A “unicorn” look-alike made an appearance on a game camera during a full moon in an Arizona national park.
But don’t be fooled — it wasn’t quite a mythical creature.
Instead, it was a young male elk missing an antler, the Petrified Forest National Park said in a Nov. 15 Facebook post.
The yearling was spotted in the park Oct. 28 with one antler without points, photos show.
“The first set of antlers that yearling male elk grow are single beams with typically no forks or tines,” officials said.
Elk typically spend the summer and fall months growing a set of antlers, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Then they shed their antlers in the late winter or early spring, park officials said.
Elk may lose an antler due to “sparring, poor nutrition, or disease/injuries that affect testosterone levels,” park officials said.
Now park officials are keeping an eye out for a glimpse of another creature later this month.
“With the next full moon occurring on November 27th, we’ll be sure to watch for … Pegasuses?! Pegasi?!” officials said in the post.
The Petrified Forest National Park is in northeastern Arizona.
Visitors can see fossils, ancient petroglyphs, buttes, mesas and colorful badlands like the Painted Desert.
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 11:33 AM with the headline "A ‘unicorn’ in an Arizona national park? Not quite — but photos show a wild look-alike."
