Officials said a legendary elk in northern Colorado's Rocky Mountain Nature Reserve had its head and antlers removed after it died.
The "majestic" bull elk, dubbed "Kahuna," "Bruno," or "Big Thirds," was a popular tourist attraction within the natural forest, thanks to his huge, unique antlers, which made him a desirable target for photographers.
The elk's corpse was discovered in mid-March, according to Good Bull Outdoors, a Colorado-based husband and wife duo that publish photographs and videos of the region's wildlife, including shots of Kahuna.
Iconic elk found dead
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The cause of death is unknown, but officials with the National Park Service cautioned that visitors must always be careful around some carcass in Rocky Mountain National Park since mountain lions may be around.
"He may have perished naturally or been encroached on by a mountain lion," said Kyle Patterson of the National Park Service.
"He was still limping and not placing weight from his front left leg when we almost saw him alive on March 7," Schrag added. "Because of his injuries, he was clearly exposed to predation," as per CBS News.
The wildlife of Rocky Mountain National Park is a resource for everybody to enjoy and conserve, according to park authorities.
This popular elk's skull and antlers were unlawfully stolen from Rocky Mountain National Park.
The bones of this elk should be allowed to return to the ground at Rocky Mountain National Park, where he provided years of enjoyment to thousands of park visitors, as per Newsweek.
Elk are the second biggest deer species and may be found in a wide range of environments, including woods, meadows, and mountains.
These animals are related to deer but are significantly bigger than most of their cousins, as per the National Geographic. They are also known as wapiti, a Native American term that means "light-colored deer."
The antlers of a bull (male) elk can reach 4 feet above the animal's head, giving it a height of 9 feet.
Bull elk shed their antlers in March, but they begin to regrow them in May in preparation for the mating season in late summer.
Elk move to high mountain grazing pastures in the early summer to give birth to their cows (females). A single calf is born to each cow, and by the time it is 20 minutes old, it can stand.
These animals formerly roamed most of North America, but they were hunted to extinction and forced to seek shelter in more distant areas.
They now mostly inhabit western North America, particularly in mountainous areas like Wyoming's National Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National Park.
Small elk populations have been reintroduced into highly forested wilderness regions in certain eastern US states.
The bugling of bull elk resonates over the mountains during the late summer mating season.
These strong creatures remove the velvet from their new antlers and use them in fierce fights to select who gets to mate with whom.
Males with larger antlers, which are usually older animals, frequently win these confrontations and have control over small herds.
Elk congregate in bigger groups throughout the winter, while men and females are usually kept apart.
They spend the season pawing through snow to feed on grass or settling for bushes that stand clear of the snow cover when the herds return to lower valley pastures.
