This is a Grand Canyon elk. There was a time when they were shy and rarely seen, but those days are long gone. They are now so used to people that they’re positively dangerous (if you get too close and threaten them, anyway). This one was wandering across a parking lot blocking my way, so I hauled out my camera and took her picture. After she ambled off, I got onto the road and found the rest of her brood, all munching stuff alongside the road and causing a huge backup—which, I admit, I was part of. Eventually they crossed the road and we all went on our way.

January 28, 2020 — Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

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