A friendly elk has been put down by park officials after a video of it playfully butting heads with a photographer went viral.
The video, which had gone viral on YouTube and amassed almost a million views, shows the friendly elk butting heads with a photographer, James York, who was sitting by a roadside.
The friendly elk was then killed by Grea Smokey Mountains park officials on Friday, shortly after the video went viral.
The National Park's officials say that the viral video convinced them that killing the friendly elk was the only option.
A representative for the Great Smokey Mountains said that the friendly elk killed had gotten so used to humans feeding it that it lost its instinctual fear of them. National Park officials say that while the friendly elk may not have been showing any sign of aggressive behavior, it will only be a matter of time.
"When wildlife exhibits this behavior it often escalates to more aggressive behavior creating a dangerous situation for visitors. The animal had a history of approaching visitors seeking handouts." said the Great Smokey Mountains reps in a statement.
The friendly elk was known to approach visitors for food, and wildlife biologists had been forced to kill the animal last week.
There have been attempts, however, to change the friendly Elk's behavior. Several attempts of reconditioning the friendly elk had been in vain.
James York, the photographer in the viral video, has said that he was "truly saddened" to hear news of the friendly Elk killed. "I was really looking forward to watching him grow up," he said. "I felt like I bonded with him. I am crushed that he's gone. I was looking forward to his rack getting bigger and maturing into a bull."
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