Cannon Beach Elk Dodge the Dangerous Surf

The largest king tide since 1967 was happening January 10, 2021 at Cannon Beach Oregon. From my hotel deck, I watched this herd of elk observing the surf patterns. In between wave surges, the lead elk took off onto the beach and the rest of the herd followed. They made it further down the beach where they were momentarily pinned between the Ecola River and the tidal surge. They finally found a way back to high ground and all survived the event. Some may think the herd was spooked by people and that forced them to make the dangerous move onto the beach. They were not. I watched this herd for a 1/2 hour as they scouted and waited for the right moment to go on the beach. All of the people observing were doing so from a safe and respectful distance on their hotel decks. Only once the herd moved onto the beach, did we all come out to see where they were going.
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These elk are pretty smart. What ever their reason for going onto the beach, they timed it just right. And they did so after 1/2 hour of observing and studying the surf patterns. The end of this video shows the dangerous surf that they just barely escaped.
King Tides can produce extremely dangerous hydraulic conditions. While the elk seemed to figure it out, the wave surge patterns are very unpredictable. People die every year in these events by not respecting the dynamic and forceful nature of tidal surges like these. But they are beautiful and majestic, so keep a safe distance and enjoy the show!