SLEEPING BEAUTY

Up Close and Personal with a Baby Elk

The day started out great, but ended with an experience we shall not soon forget.

It was nearing 7:30 PM as we headed home to Gardiner. We were really looking forward to a big hot meal after spending a long day in the park. A mile or so south of Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park, we spot a momma elk and a wobbly legged calf. After comparing notes, we believe it's the baby elk who had been born earlier in the day that we passed by on our way to Lamar Valley.

My husband, Rick, was driving Earl and Carol Sue's car and slowed down as the pair crossed the road. Momma pushed on into the tall sage just on the other side of the pavement in front of us but baby didn't want anything to do with it. She wobbled back onto the road and headed straight for the car, so Rick stops to ensure the baby's safety. We all fully anticipated her to get scared by the big, noisy, metal contraption and return back to her mother, but she didn't, and continued walking our way.

Before we knew it, baby sniffed the front of the car on the passenger side, then the tire, and despite momma's alarming calls, she decided it was time to take a nap against our tire!

We were perplexed! We had never been in a situation like this before. We yelled "boo" and "scram," but she wouldn't budge! We knew not to touch wildlife in any way whatsoever, so nudging her was out of the question. We thought momma would eventually come and get her but she continued eating grass a few feet away from us with a watchful eye.

Sleeping Beauty from my view out of back passenger-side window.

Sleeping Beauty had placed herself under the car next to the passenger tire. We were stuck and couldn't move, nor would we move for fear of harming the little one. We made the best of it. Within a few feet of Earl in the front passenger seat and me sitting behind him, we had a front row view to a beautiful, new-to-this-world, living creature.

Shortly, we heard cars stopping behind us and people walking up to the car. Rick and Carol Sue got out on the driver's side to inform them what was going on and to direct them away from the baby. Some asked questions, others took photos.

About 20 minutes later we realize we aren't getting out of this anytime soon and we have created a traffic jam! I make a call to 911 and Dispatcher Steve asks, "What's the emergency?"

"I'm sorry I called 911 because I'm not sure if you would consider this an emergency. But there is a baby elk sleeping next to our tire and we are stopped on a main road," I reply.

Dispatcher Steve chuckles and says, "Yes, this is definitely an animal emergency!" Steve gathers our location and vehicle description and says a ranger will be in route soon. He was so good natured and calming, assuring us we did the right thing.

The view from the back of the car on the driver's side.

More time passes and our stomachs are now growling. We surmise that by the time we get out of this situation, the restaurants will be closed and the big hot meal we had planned will not happen. Not only will we be denied an enjoyable dinner, but so would all the visitors caught in this unique traffic jam - often referred to as an animal jam in the parks.

And, boy, did we receive some dumbfounded stares and nasty glares as onlookers drove by. If they couldn't see the baby elk, they hadn't a clue what was going on and probably called us a stupid tourist. Or worse, if they did see the baby elk under our tire, they probably thought we hit it. I would have paid high dollar for a sign that read, "We did NOT hit the baby elk. It's sleeping!"

Not only did the ugly stares concern us, but momma crossed the road away from her little one. Okay, the truth is only us girls were concerned. The boys tried to assure us that momma will come back, but she had walked so far away, probably due to the traffic congestion.

An hour after this all started, Ranger Joe drives up, surveys the situation and tries the "boo and scram" yelling technique we found useless. Rick and Carol Sue light-heartedly tell him we already tried that and he laughs and shakes his head. He moved on to a ranger's next priority - the first ensuring animal and human safety, of course - and began directing people back to their cars and moving the traffic jam along.

The road finally clears allowing Ranger Joe to work his traffic directing skills to get us out of our wildlife emergency. Using dynamic hand gestures and vocal commands, he directs Rick to drive forward a little bit, wait, forward a bit more, wait, turn the wheel, forward just a bit more, and then finally we were able to clear the spot we had occupied for over an hour without any harm to Sleeping Beauty.

We were all amazed that the movement of the vehicle didn't state the baby; she didn't move one inch. While it may not have phased her, it was a bit tense for the rest of us, I must say. Plus, I was concerned that momma would leave her baby behind. Just before completely leaving her behind, I asked Ranger Joe if momma would come back for her baby. He assured me she would.

Later that evening, I discovered a voice mail from dispatcher Steve informing us that the ranger wanted us to know that 5 minutes after we left, momma came and got her baby and they walked off into the sunset.

Ahhhhh! Relief!!! As awesome as it was to be two feet from a wild newborn elk, I hope to never experience that again!!!

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Alicia White is an Award-Winning Speaker and Photographer. Each year since 2006, she and her husband Rick travel to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks to photograph the stunning landscape and amazing wildlife. To see some of their photos, please visit: www.facebook.com/YellowstonePhotos