Encountering wild animals can sometimes be a scary and dangerous experience. However, some animals are as social and friendly as house pets, and they love to say hello to humans passing by. These types of animals are rare and it’s safest to stay away from animals in the wild, but when animals do try to become friends with humans, it can be an adorable story.
Most animal species, like humans, want to belong to a group or a pack. They find safety in numbers so they usually try to travel with members of the same species. Unfortunately, animals sometimes become lost or rejected from the group. An orphaned elk named Buttons is one of these animals.
Buttons roams around in Kittitas County, Washington. She likes to spend her time with cows and goats at local farms, and many of the county’s residents are familiar with her. Sometimes, when animals are separated from their group and live a solitary lifestyle, they become aggressive, but Buttons is one of the friendliest animals imaginable. A group of firefighters discovered this while fighting a wildfire.
The Kittitas County Fire District 7 posted several pictures on their Facebook page of their encounter with Buttons. The elk approached them while they were in the woods fighting the wildfire, and she had no hesitations about coming close to them and nuzzling their heads. Several photos show the firefighters happily accepting the attention Buttons offered them.
They posted the pictures to Facebook to share their adorable experience and to try to prevent game hunters from shooting her if they saw her. Buttons is like a local celebrity in Kittitas County, and many people would be devastated to lose her.
Most elk
are shy and skittish and will run away quickly if you try to approach them. Buttons’ friendliness is truly unique for her species, but it brings joy to many people who meet her firsthand or who see the photos of her.