KELOWNA – An Facebook page has posted a video of a rare encounter with a group of some of the largest mammals in North America.

Elk are one of the rarest ungulates in the Okanagan, prefering forested areas to open plains. However they are occasionally seen around the region, as was the case on March 9.

"Filmed these Okanagan elk yesterday," the administrator of Wild Okanagan writes. "Most ungulates spend the winter in the timber where the snow isn't as deep and there is more food available, including evergreen needles and moss as well as shrubs and bushes. Now that the weather is warming, I call it spring green up, these elk are taking advantage of the fresh green grass shoots on the open hills."

According to an Environment Canada aerial count in 2009, there are approximately 900 elk living in the Okanagan.

The owner of the video does not say where he filmed the animals but two years ago a herd of elk took up residency on an Armstrong farm, eating stocks of hay and chasing livestock.

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.