Locations
Yellowstone
Baby Elk
This little guy was resting during the middle of the day when a Magpie jumped on his back and started feeding on insects in his fur. The baby didn't seem to care except when the Magpie dug a little too deep. The baby would raise his head and look directly into the eyes of the Magpie. The Magpie would look back, make a noise and continue to dine.
This incident occurred over a period of about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the baby elk was resting against a wall of a building in Mammoth Hot Springs which also made proper exposure more difficult. There was a faucet directly behind the baby elk but was blocked from view when the baby raised his head. Also, due to lack of contrast between the baby elk's fur and the color of the feathers on the Magpie's head, the Magpie's head had to photographed against the wall to achieve proper separation.