It may have taken hundreds of years, but the legendary painter Vincent Van Gogh has finally been reincarnated. He's come back as an elk.
Okay, so maybe it's not a literal reincarnation unless I find a hoof recreation of the Starry Night painted on a tree. But a one-earred elk in Wyoming has affectionately been dubbed Van Gogh. The animal appeared on a game camera at night, walking right up to the device and giving the camera a close-up.
The one-earred cow elk garnered a lot of attention.
"I am nicknaming her Van Gogh for her missing ear," Teton County resident Lacelynn Seibel told Cowboy State Daily. A hunter, Seibel, set up the game camera to see what she could capture in the area. She was concerned about leaving behind a scent that may ward off elk. But Van Gogh appeared undeterred.
An Elk Name Van Gogh
Van Gogh infamously sliced off half of his left ear in 1888 after getting in a fight with his roommate. It's unknown if the elk also had a similar story. It's possible frostbite could have claimed the ear during a brutal winter. However, Seibel believes the stub is too cleanly cut for that to be the case.
"It's not typical what it looks like when they lose ears to frostbite, or get it caught in something," she said. "It's usually torn and tattered at the edges."
Fortunately, Seibel won't have to choose between saving or shooting Van Gogh. The hunter only goes after bulls.
"Last year I got a pretty good bull, so I'm holding out for an even better one this year," she said. So far the hunter has enjoyed hunting in Wyoming and is hopeful for the season this year.
But encounters like with the elk remind of her the beauty of nature beyond just the thrill of the hunt. So even if she doesn't get a kill this year, it's worth just being in nature.
"It's cool getting to know the terrain and how the animals use it," she said. "It's just a gorgeous area."
