Two teenagers in Evergreen, Colorado, recently had their driveway soccer session interrupted by a wild elk who wanted to join them. The animal ended up showcasing some impressive skills with the ball before leaving the boys to continue playing by themselves.
In a viral video captured by their mom Shira Moffatt, two teens can be seen kicking the ball to the elk standing on the ridge above the driveway. Each time the elk receives the ball, he returns it to the teenagers.
“Our kids were playing soccer and kicked the ball up the hill where the elk were,” Moffatt told Storyful. “One of the elk took an interest and began to play with them … We do see elk quite a bit, but they have never played with us. It was pretty incredible.”
While elks can sometimes be dangerous, especially when disturbed, it turned out that the teenagers reacted appropriately.
In a statement made to 9News, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife said that the boys kept a safe distance from the wild animal and didn’t kick the ball at the elk but nearby. They also explained elk’s interest in the ball, saying that they reacted to it as they would to a smaller prey.
