The Olympic Elk

Part of the “True-Life Adventure Series”; The subject of this two-reel are the elk of Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. We see these deer learning to walk, climbing downhill in a herd, and braving local bears. Those, plus some colorful arctic flowers, are the nice bits. We also see the elk engaging in duels (something amusingly observed and “imitated” by marmots), athletic fights with deadlocks said to often end in death by starvation to both participants. If that brutish behavior isn’t enough to turn you off, then wait until you see how the polygamous bull males gather up wives and do battle with another (with wives as a wager) before unmelodically announcing the end of their bachelorhood.