Rutting Bull Elk Snaps An Antler During Intense Heavyweight Tilt

Splintered elk antlers flying through the air must mean that the fight was rather ruthless.

Two full-grown wild animals at maximum strength battling it out is truly a sight to see. There’s nothing like seeing nature’s first-team, all-American (I always have to tie things in with a sports reference, sorry) animals compete, and this clash is as impressive and action-packed as it gets.

Elk might seem like the peaceful, grazing type, but they can turn it on in an instant if the situation calls for it. They’ll throw down – or rather, throw antlers – at any place, at any time. Considering the “GoodBullGuided” account typically navigates the “Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park” areas, it’s very likely that this video is out of Estes Park.

It’s estimated that over 280,000 elk live in Colorado, which is enough to give the state the honor of housing the largest concentrated population of elk in the world. Believe it or not, that many elk bring in tourists from all over the planet, and one of the more popular places they visit is Estes Park, Colorado – which is referred to as the “Elk Capital of the World.”

Safe to say, if you hang around Estes Park for a while, you’re likely to see two bulls compete in a toughness contest, especially when it’s rutting season.

Strangely, this antler clashing took place outside of the regular elk rut season. It’s normal for bull elk to be more aggressive and vocal from September to November. They starting “acting up” during that period of time to establish dominance, and in hopes of securing a female mate. These two evidently got somewhat of an early start to the rut.

This video below appears to have been recorded in the past couple of days. Though they could still be fighting over the females running nearby, this could be more of a territorial tussle. Regardless of what they are battling for or over, the two elk didn’t hold any punches (can an elk hold a punch?), went all out in this intense push-of-war face off, and one lost a part of its rack as a result.

Prepare to witness an antler casualty:

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Love the juxtaposition of the nasty fight in the foreground with the serene, magnificent Rocky Mountains in the background (and the arguably biggest bull watching from a distance).

The natural reaction to seeing a bull elk lose a part of his antlers is, “Ouch,” right? Well, the good news is that antlers are basically dead bones that extend from the elk’s skull. The antlers lack the nerves that typically transmit pain signals to the body. So though losing a piece of antler might seem like a painful problem, it’s purely cosmetic.

Regardless, it was one heck of a standoff that really got the attention of social media users. They left replies below the post praising the power that was on display:

“Battle of the year!”

“Wow! Intense action. Great capture!”

“Pure power with them fellas.”

“Men fighting over the ladies.”

“The power behind these incredible animals is amazing.”

The other portion of the good news is that the elk will only be missing a part of his antlers for a couple more months. Elk generally shed their antlers in the early spring (sometimes in the late winter), so the bull that suffered a partial loss of his rack will be able to start fresh in 2026.

New year, new antlers… every elk’s New Year’s Resolution.The post Rutting Bull Elk Snaps An Antler During Intense Heavyweight Tilt first appeared on Whiskey Riff.