\u201cWe have a lot of visitors who just don’t think that it (an elk) is a wild animal,\u201d\u00a0he said. “I\u2019ve seen people try to put their kids on an elk\u2019s back, or walk up and feed them carrots.”<\/p>\n
The elk could possibly drawn to the beach seeking saltwater therapy for biting pests.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon to see elk going out into saltwater. It\u2019s commonly thought to be therapeutic for external parasites, such as fleas,\u201d\u00a0said Paul Atwood, a district wildlife biologist\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n
Atwood started his\u00a0career\u00a0with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in Green River, from 2010 to 2012.<\/p>\n
Oregon\u2019s coastal elk herds have grown rapidly over the past 10 to 12 years, he told Cowboy State Daily. That often puts them near people, including on the beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere can be a couple thousand people on the beach on a busy day,\u201d Atwood said.<\/p>\n
Cannon Beach has a population of about 1,500, said Paino.<\/p>\n
![\"Mobs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Beach-Elk-Herd-4.16.26.jpg\")
Mobs of elk enjoy handing out on or near that beach near the tiny town of Cannon Beach, Oregon. (Courtesy Salty Soma Photography)A Different Subspecies<\/p>\n
Elk populations are doing well across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Herds have grown from elk transplanted to states\u00a0such as Kentucky<\/a>. In Nebraska<\/a>, elk with Wyoming DNA are steadily reclaiming their historic Great Plains habitat.<\/p>\n Wyoming has Rocky Mountain elk, also sometimes called wapiti.<\/p>\n Oregon\u2019s coastal herds are a different subspecies, Roosevelt elk, Atwood said. Roosevelt elk have larger bodies than Rocky Mountain elk, but the bulls\u2019 antler racks are smaller.<\/p>\n Smaller antlers come in handy for elk navigating thick coastal forests, Atwood said.<\/p>\n One doesn\u2019t have to go far from the beaches to find rich forest habitat, where elk spend most of their time, he\u00a0explained.<\/p>\n Besides therapeutic dips in salt water, some speculate that elk might go out onto the beaches looking for seaweed to munch on.<\/p>\n \u201cI have heard reports of people seeing them eat seaweed,\u201d\u00a0Atwood said. “The salty taste might be appealing to them.\u00a0That would be a very minor portion of their diet.”<\/p>\n As the elk herds grow and elk become more acclimated to people in populated areas, elk-human conflicts have multiplied, Atwood said.<\/p>\n \u201cComplaints from the public have increased in the last\u00a0three to four\u00a0years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Those have included some instances of elk striking at and sometimes hurting people, he said.<\/p>\n In the wild parts of the coastal ecosystem, elk hunting is popular, and the region has a good reputation for hunter success.<\/p>\n However, in and around towns such as Cannon Beach, controlling elk numbers gets more complicated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not in the business of authorizing elk hunts inside city limits,\u201d Atwood said.<\/p>\n Many locals also have an aversion toward the \u201clethal take\u201d of elk, even if it\u2019s done by trained game agents, he added.<\/p>\n Capturing\u00a0and relocating elk is a limited option.<\/p>\n Any time elk are relocated, there\u2019s a risk of transmitting wildlife maladies such as chronic wasting disease, Atwood said.<\/p>\n Tourist Attraction?<\/p>\n Photos of the beach elk are popular on social media. Paino said that tourists frequently ask about the elk and when to see them on the beach.<\/p>\n The beach elk phenomenon \u201ctries to be\u201d a tourist attraction, he said. However, \u201cYou can\u2019t schedule where the elk are going to be.\u00a0My office manager tells people, \u2018They don\u2019t text me their schedule.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Atwood said many of the complaints his department gets about elk stem from people trying to get too close to the animals.<\/p>\n Paino agreed and added that visitors\u2019 dogs can also raise a ruckus with elk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe elk will go after dogs, and people,\u201d if pet owners let their pooches get too near, he said.<\/p>\n![\"Elk](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Beach-Elk-1-4.16.26.jpg\")
Elk on the beach are a common sight at Cannon Beach, Oregon. (Courtesy Audrey Wilson)Management Challenges<\/p>\n