Horny bull elk keeps attacking cars, forces Missouri wildlife park to close indefinitely

Lone Elk Park, located just outside St.Louis, closed Monday after officials decided the animal had become too much of a safety risk.

Apparently, the problem is that he's young, he's horny, and he's new to this whole being-in-charge thing.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORSAccording to St.Louis Public Radio, the bull recently replaced his own father as the dominant male in the herd.

This is his first mating season running the show, and he's not exactly handling his newfound responsibilities gracefully.A bull elk flicks his tongue as part of the mating ritual while watching over his harem of cow elk on the Lake Estes Golf Course.(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)"We have a younger, more inexperienced herd bull this year," Eric Johnson, acting director of St.

Louis County Parks and Recreation, said."It's his first year, and he's acting a little bit like a teenager."One visitor, Theresa Hammer, learned that the hard way.Hammer told St.

Louis Public Radio she was sitting in her Ford Fusion last week when the bull approached her vehicle.She looked away briefly, and when she looked back, he was ramming his antlers into the front of her car."I looked back up, and he hit the front of my car with his horns," she said.

"He scratched up the whole side of my car, my hood and put a big dent in the rear quarter panel."A bull elk stands in Colorado during rutting season.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)Despite the damage, Hammer said she doesn't blame the elk.

After all, she's the one driving through his home.Lone Elk Park is a 546-acre drive-through wildlife park where visitors can observe elk, bison and other animals from their vehicles.Officials had posted warnings about keeping a safe distance from the elk, but visitors weren't always following them.And with the bull becoming increasingly aggressive, the county decided it was safer to close the park until he settles down.BULL ELK IN COLORADO NICKNAMED 'SMASH' IS CHASING OFF TRUCKS AND GOLF CARTSFor what it's...