Smokey Mountain Elk Attacks Unsuspecting Photographer

A man photographing an elk while visiting the Smokey Mountains got a real surprise when the elk walked up to him and started attacking him. First, with mild head butts and then getting increasingly more aggressive until someone came to the photographer's rescue.

The elk's rather unusual behavior was because humans had conditioned the elk to approach by feeding him. Since the photographer didn't offer any food, the elk became agitated. Give the photographer credit for keeping calm and preventing injury to both himself and the animal.

The saddest part of this story is because there had been other reports of this elk being aggressive towards humans, the National Park Service was forced to kill this majestic animal to prevent further attacks.

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