The moment a mother and her elk stopped traffic on a North BC highway last week was videotaped by a truck driver.
Rodney Pierre was entering Prince George along the Yellowhead Expressway on May 18 when traffic was blocked on a busy route near Canadian Tire and Walmart.
“I didn’t see the elk until we came to a complete stop. The cow and the calf, I thought they were going to run down the road because the calf couldn’t get over the fence but the mother kept pushing it through. “, he told CTV News, adding that the calf was very small and seemed unsteady on its feet.
“It was amazing,” he added, explaining why he decided to take out his phone and start recording.
The video Pierre shot shows the mother deer on one side of the highway’s concrete divider and the calf on the other. The adult moose jumps over the fence, briefly reuniting with the young before jumping over again, almost to show the young how it’s done.
But the calf cannot or will not jump.
“Come on little calf, come over here!” Pierre encouraged from his truck “You can do it, little calf!”
One of the drivers who had pulled over could be seen getting out of his car and trying to drive the fawn off the road, prompting the mother deer to quickly jump back to join the young.
“I thought he was going to be attacked,” Pierre said. “Mother deer are always very protective. They treat people like carnivores because in their environment, everyone is a carnivore.”
Finally, the two elk headed towards the exit and off the highway.
“They just go back the way they came,” said Pierre.
