\u201cThe cow elk appeared to go after the gosling\u2019s feet and the brain. That makes sense. The brain has a lot of complex nutrients that aren\u2019t found elsewhere in nature,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Elk eat each other\u2019s shed antlers and bones for nutrients such as calcium, said\u00a0Winnie\u00a0and Brian Wakeling,\u00a0Game\u00a0Management bureau chief for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.<\/p>\n
![\"Elk](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Joni-Davis-Penn-State-University-College-of-Agricultural-Sciences-2.22.26.jpg\")
Elk are nature\u2019s garbage disposals \u2014 they’ll eat just about anything. That includes all types of plants or munching on bones and \u2014 as shown in a circulating video \u2014 baby geese when they can catch them. (Joni Davis Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)Egg Shells And Bird Droppings<\/p>\n
Elk, along with deer and moose, need supplemental nutrients, such as salt, so they\u2019ve got to be opportunists, Wakeling said.<\/p>\n
To get those dietary supplements, they\u2019ll do some things that might seem strange or even revolting from a human point of view.<\/p>\n
That might include gobbling down eggshells from old bird\u2019s nests or licking bird droppings up off the ground, he said.<\/p>\n
And after cow elk give birth, they\u2019ll eat their own placenta, or afterbirth, Wakeling said.<\/p>\n
However, that might be more about protecting themselves and their calves from predators than it is about nutrients, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an adaptation, to eliminate something that might attract predators if it was left there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said that an elk eating a gosling would be extremely rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir digestive system isn\u2019t designed to process animal protein,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gulping Down Bones<\/p>\n
When elk eat shed antlers or bones, even those of other elk, it\u2019s about getting calcium, Winnie said.<\/p>\n
When pickings for usual foods get slim during the winter, elk are \u201coperating at a caloric deficit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey aren\u2019t getting many micro-nutrients, such as calcium, and their bone density plummets during the winter,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
That can make their bones dangerously brittle. So, the solution is to eat others\u2019 bones.<\/p>\n
Calcium isn\u2019t just good for bones. It\u2019s also vital for nervous system function, Winnie said.<\/p>\n
For example, calcium keeps the neurons that control elks\u2019 heart rate functioning properly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s required for the heart muscles to contract, so it\u2019s vitally important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Elk-eating-a-gosling-2.22.26.jpg\")
A cow elk pursues Canada goose babies, or goslings, and finally catches and eats one, in this video taken in Estes Park, Colorado. (Courtesy Loren and Ally Schrag, Good Bull Outdoors)\u2018A Fermentation Vat\u2019<\/p>\n
As to why an elk would eat a gosling, Winnie said it might not have been to directly provide nutrients to the elk.<\/p>\n
Instead there might have been some nutritional need for the \u201cflora\u201d or array of bacteria in the elk\u2019s digestive system.<\/p>\n
Elk might be regarded as walking septic tanks, insofar as the range of bacteria and other flora in their guts allows them to process all sorts of things that other animals, such as deer, might not be able to handle.<\/p>\n
Elk have a multi-stomach digestive system, and the first stomach is \u201cessentially a fermentation vat,\u201d Wakeling said.<\/p>\n
When it comes to plants, \u201celk will eat anything,\u201d Winnie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll eat\u00a0sagebrush, rabbit brush, wild rye, and evergreens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Winnie said he\u2019s seen instances of\u00a0Douglas\u00a0fir trees that looked as if they had been \u201ctrimmed\u201d by elk nipping at the lower branches.<\/p>\n
Wild Goose Chase<\/p>\n
Schrag said when he first spotted the gosling-gobbling elk, he was driving by and saw it \u201crunning around a pond. So, he stopped to take video.<\/p>\n
At first, the cow elk appeared to be chasing and trying to catch starlings but failed.<\/p>\n
Then\u00a0it\u00a0spotted a pair of Canada geese with goslings and went for them instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (the adult geese) kept coming up to it and attacking it, hitting it in the face with their wings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The geese got all their goslings except one safely into the water, and that last one fell prey to the elk, Schrag said.<\/p>\n
It’s\u00a0the only instance he recalls seeing an elk eat a bird.<\/p>\n
Over the years that he and Ally have watched elk in Estes Park, Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere, they\u2019ve seen them eating bones on numerous occasions, he said.<\/p>\n