VIDEO: Bull Elk Trips, Breaks Neck Jumping Over Fence

An incredible piece of footage uploaded to Youtube shows the moment a huge bull elk tripped over a fence and snapped its neck, something you don't see every day.  

After all, we think of animals like elk as having better reflexes, agility and control than us humans, and it is true.  But even so, s**t happens.  This bull elk make a last minute miscalculation of the force required to clear the fence, or he planted the step before his jump wrong, or his stamina was sapped by something to which we're not privy.  Whatever the reason, the bull elk jumps, gets tangled on the fence, and does a terrifying flip, all 600-700 lbs of him.  

Then he face-plants into the ground, shattering his neck.  His body falls backwards, and he lies on his back, likely unable to feel his legs or extremities.  His legs kick for another twenty or thirty seconds, possibly as the result of electrical impulses out of his control.

Gradually, the kicking ceases. 

The revealing part, from the perspective of observing animal psychology, are the two cows and one bull following.  One is close enough to the fence that, though visibly startled by the bull elk's demise, it still makes the jump, clearing it deftly.  But the cows behind her take in the full horror of the bull's death, and it stops them in their tracks.  The younger bull turns and runs and doesn't stop, evidently thinking that if the fence is a match for the old bull, it might be wise to move on.

The cow, however, stops and stares at the body as it kicks.  If the cow is feeling emotion, and if so, what that emotion it might be feeling, are matters of speculation.  Eventually, she decides on the same move as the young bull and runs the other direction rather than rejoining the herd. 

Its a truly remarkable occasion to have caught on camera, as well a sobering memento mori - a reminder that it could all come down to one wrong move and you're toast, even if you're a huge, majestic bull. 

Watch your step.