This is the shocking moment a wounded elk turned the tables and charged a huntsman, nearly stomping it to death as his terrified friends watched on.
Footage shows two hunters closing in on the elk with their hunting rifles drawn.
But after one of them fired at the elk without killing it, the animal launched a ferocious counterattack, charging directly at him.
It struck the hunter with its antlers and hooves, as the man lied helplessly on the ground and attempted to defend himself.
The second hunter, witnessing the massive elk pummeling his friend, hesitated to shoot, seemingly fearing the animal might turn on him instead.
Meanwhile, a third hunter, who was filming the incident from inside a vehicle, attempted to scare off the enraged elk.
The video of the snowy field in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), in Russia‘s Far East, was taken earlier this month.
Local media did not disclose whether the hunter sustained any serious injuries or if he required medical attention following the attack.
The elk (cervus canadensis) is the second largest species within the deer family and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia.
While the elk’s antlers and velvet are used in traditional medicines in parts of Asia it is mostly hunted as a game species.
This comes after an archery hunter was gored to death by an enraged elk in Oregon, US, three years ago.
Mark David, 66, shot at and wounded the elk with a bow and arrow in Trask Road area, Tillamook County, in August 2020.
David, from Hillsboro, had been hunting on private property when he fired at the bull elk but failed to kill the animal one night.
The hunter couldn’t find the injured animal before nightfall and decided to look for it the next day, according to Oregon State Police.
He set out with the property owner to find the elk the next morning, but they found the animal alive.
David attempted to kill the elk with his bow but the enraged animal charged at the hunter and gored him in the neck with his antlers.
The property owner attempted to intervene but David suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
‘The landowner attempted to help David but he sustained fatal injuries and died,’ Oregon State Police said.
The elk was killed and the meat was donated to the Tillamook County Jail following the investigation, police said in a statement.
