When I woke up this morning, I looked out the window. At the back end of our yard, there was a little herd of cow elk. It’s not uncommon — they’re here just about every morning, a fact of life that my dog just simply cannot come to terms with — and one of my favorite parts of the day is drinking coffee on the porch while staring at those giant white butts. Those butts are nearly constantly shooting pee out of them (not the ACTUAL butts, but you get my meaning if you’ve watched a cow elk peeing before), shamelessly and surprisingly frequently. It’s relatively rare to see a big bull elk, though I’m sure they’re hovering around on the fringes somewhere. But when it’s rutting season, those things are… excitable, to say the least.
Like the majestic bull you see in the video above, shot at Yellowstone National Park, a place well-known for its elk population. Bull elk, you see, like to douse themselves in urine to attract the females. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows. It’s a practice called “self-anointing,” and this one… well, he got a mouthful.
