Published June 25, 2026 01:18 pm
I’m standing at the Grand Canyon’s Mathers Campground, one of more than 300 sites, looking directly into the eyes of a 700-pound elk. Next to me are National Park Service (NPS) wildlife biologist Brady Dunn and his partner Blue. She’s not your ordinary park ranger – Blue is a Catahoula leopard hound specifically tasked with training the park’s wild ungulates to stay away from areas that people frequent.
And she takes her job very seriously.
“The Grand Canyon has what I would call a chronic elk problem,” Dunn told me. “Like Yellowstone, elk from outside the park have been coming in for 20, 25 years, and during that time they’ve developed what we call habituation. We haven’t found a solution to that yet.”
on patrol with blue
It’s the morning of June 15, and I got up early especially to escape the Arizona heat. After meeting Dunn and Blue at the historic El Tovar Hotel, we hop into our trucks and head out on patrol, driving through the park in search of human-habituated elk. Dunn’s radio clicks on – his wildlife rangers have spotted a large female roaming the Mather Campground, one of five key locations NPS staff have deemed high visitor use areas and elk movement hotspots. (Other locations include the El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Massvik Lodge, and Grand Canyon School.)
We park our vehicles on a narrow road lined with ponderosa pine, pinyon and juniper trees. Dunn opens the hatch of his SUV and carefully ties up Blue. We walk along, quietly and peacefully, crunching on pine cones. Once within 20 feet, Dunn ordered Blue to bark, activating his cowboy instincts to scare the elk away. Within seconds, the elk comes up and runs away.
I first learned about Blue in May, when he started patrolling in parts Of the south rim. She is not the first four-legged ranger to do such a thing. In July 2016, Glacier National Park employed Gracie, a border collie professionally trained to escort bighorn sheep and mountain goats out of popular areas. Further south in California, a Karelian bear dog named Yoshi is currently avoid bears In Yosemite.
“This opens up a lot of doors for a lot more conservation work using this new equipment,” Alex Muller, biological sciences technician at Grand Canyon National Park, told me.
A pilot program to promote long-term investment
At 18 months old, Blue is the first participant in a three-year initiative funded by Grand Canyon Conservancy Habitual to adapt to wild life. Some elk and bighorn sheep have become more comfortable around people and in developed areas, using these places to stay safe from predators such as cougars and coyotes. Dunn hopes the program will reduce encounters, emergencies and fatal management actions. This comes at a time when park visitation is at an all-time high.
“This park alone gets about 5 million visitors a year and 6 million visitors a year,” Dunn said. “On top of that, where the problem exists is that we also have the highest elk population we’ve ever had, and the greatest majority of that population has ever been acclimated.”
As the animals get used to it, they become bolder and also more aggressive. They can block roads, walk on trails, and use the park as a natural buffer against predators because there are fewer cougars and coyotes within the park boundaries.
Blue acts as a “spotted wolf,” Dunn says, filling that predator gap and evoking an instinctive fear response in the elk. This is a natural predator signal that supports long-lasting behavioral change. Blue is always on a leash and under complete control of Dunn. She never bites; Instead, she uses barking and herding pressure to drive animals out of the area.
“Blue starts barking. We walk toward the elk, and we lead the animal away. We do it over and over again because it’s what you call aversive conditioning. They get associated that whenever they go to ‘that one spot,’ that spotted wolf comes out with his owner and barks,” Dunn said. “All we do is move them out of the area and leave them there.”
NPS staff monitor the movements of elk and bighorn sheep using radio collars. This allows them to determine where the animal moved and how long they were away from that area, whether it was 45 minutes or two weeks.
“We’re making it scientific while being innovative,” Dunn said.
A familiar furry face around Grand Canyon Village
The Blue has become somewhat of a mascot around Grand Canyon Village, the primary hub of the South Rim. My friend has lived in the area for five years and has two sons, Wyatt and Walker. When I told them I got to hang out with Blue for a day, their eyes lit up—she’d come to their school and show off her skills in real time.
And if you think Blue is a character, you haven’t met Dunn. He is a self-proclaimed old head and a philosopher as well. He told me he was expecting a forceful reporter, but my dirty Carhartts, Chaco-tan legs and beat-up Tacoma suggested otherwise.
“You look good, let’s do this,” he said. Dunn has decades of experience, having studied wolverines in Glacier, grizzlies in Yellowstone, capturing cougars in Colorado, and tracking bobcats and Canada lynxes across the Rocky Mountains. They have also collected over 60,000 hours of field data.
After describing her experience she said to me, “Thanks for reminding me how much I enjoyed myself.” He loves his work, you can tell. And his work is now blue.
If the project is successful, Dunn hopes to expand his work to other parks and animals.
What to do if you encounter wildlife?
Sophie Mirotznik, a biological sciences technician, works with Blue and helps control crowds or traffic. If you encounter wildlife while visiting the park, keep track of where the elk are currently and where they are moving.
“To be a good steward, especially as it relates to elk, staying 100 feet away is ideal. If that’s not possible, don’t close the gap between where you are and where the elk are,” Mrotznik said. “Animals are dangerous, and it’s better for us to be listened to than to be hurt.”
Listen to park staff, be patient with their process, and be aware of your surroundings. Do not feed animals, and be sure to close watering stations after use. She said if you find yourself face to face with the animal, walk away calmly.
