Elk Alert

Last time staying at Jasper Park Lodge, as the sun set, the wolves in the surrounding forest started howling. This time, eager for another magical wildlife experience, I sat in a deck chair beside the lake, late into the evening. Hearing a distant call gave me hope, and I stayed and stayed. The calling eventually stopped and I was nearly ready to give up when a large noise right behind me startled me. A few metres away was an enormous male elk, munching on a hedge. Keeping the hedge between me and the beast, I got my camera ready and then as he moved away towards the cabins, I followed. A few startled guests encountered him, and pet dogs started barking. Strangely, he stopped and sat outside one cabin (see first photo). By this stage, the hotel staff were heading over, and tried to chase him off, back into the woods. My photos were handheld, in near darkness, so it was tough avoiding blurriness. In real life, the scene was very dark, and the elk was barely visible in the shadows.