Elk are giving birth or raising a young calf. If they feel threatened they may charge. Never approach these animals or come between a mother and its young, they will fight. Elk are responsible for more attacks on people than any other animal in the mountains, yet almost all of these are provoked by careless people. Every spring the ticks come out in search of some warm blooded lunch.
Ticks look like a small flattened spider, they have eight legs and two body segments.
One tick can fit quite comfortably on a dime. The pests are harmless enough, but they can transmit disease. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Lymes' Disease are both carried by ticks. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is so rare in Jasper that there hasn't been a case reported for years, and to date there is no record of Lymes' Disease in the Canadian Rockies. During the spring season do a full body search at the end of the day to look for ticks.