![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Split-5-Bull-graph-1.28.26.jpeg\")
This graph shows how the Split 5 bull got his name, for a split on his G5, or the fifth antler point back. (Courtesy Shane Paul\/Wyoming Wylde Photography)A Colorado Elk Herd With Wyoming Roots<\/p>\nA gigantic bull elk, called \u201cSplit 5,\u201d hailed as the king of the Estes Park, Colorado,\u00a0herd, was reportedly legally killed by a hunter, leaving his fans mourning.<\/p>\n
The bull was apparently shot during Colorado\u2019s fall hunting season. After the news broke this week that Split 5 was gone, social media lit up with tributes to the legendary bull.<\/p>\n
Wildlife photographer and hunter Shane Paul of Cheyenne was a close follower of the Split 5 bull, which was also called Atlas.<\/p>\n
He frequently traveled to Colorado to watch and photograph Split 5.<\/p>\n
He told Cowboy State Daily that he had mixed feelings about news of the bull\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a hunter, if he was legally harvested, I\u2019m 100% supportive of it. But it\u2019s still hard for me, because he was so well-known,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This graph shows how the Split 5 bull got his name, for a split on his G5, or the fifth antler point back. (Courtesy Shane Paul\/Wyoming Wylde Photography)A Colorado Elk Herd With Wyoming Roots<\/p>\n
Split 5 was a dominant bull in elk herd that lives in and near Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.<\/p>\n
Each spring and fall, the herd migrates and essentially\u00a0takes over the town<\/a>\u00a0of Estes Park.<\/p>\n The herd has Wyoming DNA. It descended from elk transplanted from Wyoming in the 1900s, when Colorado had almost no elk left.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1916, Colorado imported 50 elk from Wyoming to re-establish dwindling herds,\u201d according to Colorado Park and Wildlife (CPW).<\/p>\n \u201cThe elk were transported and released in Idaho Springs and the Greenhorn Mountains in Pueblo County. From these limited transplants, and through decades of trapping and relocation efforts by wildlife managers, elk populations have soared to the abundant herds for which Colorado is now famous,\u201d according to CPW.<\/p>\n Colorado now has more elk than any other state with an estimated 280,000 to 300,000.<\/p>\n As in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, hunting is forbidden inside Rocky Mountain National Park.<\/p>\n Paul said it\u2019s thought Split 5 must have wandered outside the boundaries of the park and been shot during one of Colorado\u2019s elk hunting seasons this fall.<\/p>\n Nobody is sure exactly when and where Split 5 was shot, or who the hunter was, Paul said.<\/p>\n And he doesn\u2019t blame the hunter for laying low.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing how well-known Split 5 was, if I were the hunter I would never share pictures, because you\u2019d become a public enemy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSplit 5\u201d refers to unusual growth in the bull\u2019s antlers, Paul said. There was\u00a0a\u00a0split in the bull\u2019s G5, or the fifth point branching off his\u00a0main\u00a0antler beams.<\/p>\n The bull\u2019s size was truly remarkable.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had to have been a 400-class bull,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0reference\u00a0to\u00a0the Boone and Crockett measuring system for big game trophies. A compilation of measurements, in inches, is taken from several points along the animal\u2019s antlers, then the numbers are crunched into a final score.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Split-5-Bull-bull-truck-1.28.26.jpeg\")
The legendary Split 5 Bull scraped his antlers against wildlife photographer Shane Paul\u2019s Suburban, leaving a dent. (Courtesy Shane Paul\/Wyoming Wylde Photography)What\u2019s In The Name<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Split-5-Bull-bull-6jpeg-1.28.26.jpeg\")
The Split 5 Bull, also called Atlas, was a dominant bull in the huge elk herd that hangs around Estes Park, Colorado. The bull was legally shot by a hunter this fall. (Courtesy Shane Paul\/Wyoming Wylde Photography)\u2018Thank You, Split 5\u2019<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Split-5-Bull-bull-1.28.26.jpeg\")
The Split 5 Bull, also called Atlas, was a dominant bull in the huge elk herd that hangs around Estes Park, Colorado. The bull was legally shot by a hunter this fall. (Courtesy Shane Paul\/Wyoming Wylde Photography)<\/p>\n