Prince Albert National Park is inviting people to come learn about interacting with elk. (Parks Canada Saskatchewan/Twitter)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Prince Albert National Park

Parks staff offering education in elk etiquette

Sep 14, 2019 | 10:00 AM

Prince Albert National Park wants the public to learn more about interacting with elk in the park.

Until the end of the month staff from the park will be hosting Elk Etiquette sessions at the Nature Centre every Saturday afternoon. Lauren Markewicz, interpretations supervisor at P.A. National Park said people need to know certain things about the animals.

In particular she said when an elk stops what they’re doing to look at a human this could be an issue.

“They think that, ‘oh that’s no big deal, I can now take a picture of this animal,’ but what you’ve done is you’ve stepped into that animals person bubble, they have personal bubbles just like humans, they do perceive us as a predator,” she said.

Markewicz said bull elk are more likely to bluff charge someone to keep them away from their female elks as they are very protective of them during this time of year. They are also likely to be fighting with other bulls over females. In the spring season female elk are likely to be more aggressive in protecting their young.

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“Just because they’re herbivores doesn’t mean that they can’t be dangerous,” she said.

Markewicz wasn’t able to provide numbers on how many of the animals live in the park. She added there are a decent number of them in the park and even some who spend time around the townsite, specifically near the golf course.

The session is a casual event and people are invited to come and go or just show up to ask questions. Staff will also have displays of antlers to show people. Overall Markewicz said she hopes people who do attend remember an important point about elk in the park.

“We’re neighbors with these animals, they’re here all the time, so it’s really important for us to give them that respectful distance and be good neighbours,” she said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn