SCP-4331-3 prior to expiration and the development of anomalous properties.
Special Containment Procedures: Provisional containment sites (Sites BNF-1 through BNF-4) are positioned around each SCP-4331 instance.1 The instances are stored in locked containment chambers at the centers of the sites with triple-redundant security measures ensuring that chamber doors remain locked under all circumstances. Due to the rapid proliferation of elk in attempts to transport the anomalies, relocation is not considered feasible.
Personal firearms are necessary for all personnel operating in the facilities. Personnel must not interact with organisms belonging to the family Cervidae; doing so is liable for demotion and/or removal from SCP-4331 containment duties. Personnel with a fondness towards elk and other Cervidae are strictly forbidden from assignment to SCP-4331.
Location at Site BNF-2 verified. Displaying ancillary information.
SATET Defense Measures: In SATET Events security forces are authorized to use all means necessary to prevent SCP-4331-M instances from breaching the sites' perimeters. Weaponry determined to have limited potential for damaging the surrounding ecosystem is to be employed unless SCP-4331-M exhibit properties that require alternate means of neutralization. Non-anomalous elk are to be tranquilized; lethal force is permitted only as a last resort.
The containment chambers will be set to lockdown for the duration of SATET Events, with the only means of ending the lockdown by means of codes held by Foundation sites beyond Banff National Park. Codes will be sent once all clear signals from all four containment sites are broadcasted.
The Parks Canada Agency is collaborating with the Foundation to ensure proper coverup of these events. Full details regarding the nature of the anomaly have only been provided to select individuals and government officials, with involved workers being approved for the minimum amount of information necessary to complete SCP-4331-related work.
The locations of Sites BNF-1 through BNF-4 in restricted regions of the park limit potential civilian discoveries, though encounters with new SCP-4331 instances and SCP-4331-M are possible. Parks Canada guards will accost trespassing persons and provide cover stories regarding the restricted areas being used for wildlife research. Detainment is permitted. Any leaks of information on the anomalies or Foundation activity will be discredited as conspiracy theories.
No human subjects are allowed to physically contact SCP-4331 instances under any circumstances.
Description: SCP-4331 instances are four Rocky Mountain elk2 cadavers (SCP-4331-1 through SCP-4331-4), located in Banff National Park,3 that generate elk on physical contact with a sentient or sapient entity. Replication involves the cadaver in question generating additional mass until a new elk forms and splits off, lasting five seconds to one minute. These elk are denoted SCP-4331-L. All emerge with fully matured bodies.
The anatomy of SCP-4331-L instances is dependent on the entities that interact with the cadavers. In the case of human subjects, the instances will be generated with human body features and significant degrees of disfigurement. Examples of instance body plans have included:
- Human torsos with non-functional arms protruding laterally from the body, intersecting with the elk's internal skeletal structures and organs.
- Masses of human craniums forming the hind limbs, positioned around malformed spinal columns. The craniums contained brains, linked by the columns to the full nervous system. Each displayed neural activity analogous to standard human pleasure responses. Locomotion by the elk could only be achieved by using its front limbs to drag itself along the ground.
- A spherical head containing the same amount of mass as the full body. The instance in question was unable to move after generation, writhing until its cranium experienced spontaneous pressurization and violent depressurization. An enlarged human fetus was found in the remnants of the head.
Due to the expected conflict between anatomies, SCP-4331-L rapidly expire upon generation. Similar outcomes are experienced with physical interaction from different organisms.4
Indirect forms of physical interaction will cause generation as well. Vehicles, machinery, and autonomous devices such as drones consistently trigger replication upon physical contact so long as the machine in question was created by a sapient or sentient individual. The full extent of what classifies as indirect contact is not known.
SCP-4331 instances do not decay. Aside from SCP-4331-3, which had been tracked by Parks Canada as part of wildlife research and was discovered to display anomalous properties on death, the dates at which other instances died is unknown.
Displaying ancillary information.
OVERVIEW: SATET Events
Three elk en route to Site BNF-4 during a SATET Event. An SCP-4331-M instance, secondary head obscured by its body, stands to the far right.
Event Details: SATET Events are monthly5 events, tending to last for several days, in which elk in Banff National Park and outlying regions navigate to Sites BNF-1 through BNF-4 and attempt to breach their perimeters. Breach attempts involve the elk forcing through defensive measures around the sites, regardless of harm this brings to themselves, followed by ramming into the site walls repeatedly and assaulting guards. If allowed into the sites the elk will navigate directly towards SCP-4331. The cause of this behavior is uncertain but is likely linked to SCP-4331-M1.
SCP-4331-M instances are Rocky Mountain elk possessing abnormal anatomies, often anomalous in nature. Though the anatomies often result in expiration as is the case with SCP-4331-L, the body structures remain stable for longer durations and are only comprised of modified elk body parts, rather than those from other species. Heightened intelligence is displayed in actions taken against Foundation personnel, though the organisms are not presumed to be sapient.
Below are notable instance types:
Type: M1
Description: SCP-4331-M1 antlers bend to wrap around their heads, branching and looping as to wholly obscure all features of the head and neck. The elk do not attempt to breach the sites, instead standing at the furthest point with a direct line of sight to the facilities. On conclusion of SATET Events SCP-4331-M1 leave the area. The organisms have not been found afterwards.
Type: M2
Description: The antlers grow inwards into the head and protrude from the mouth, spreading outwards. Joints and musculature in the antlers enables them to function as graspers, typically used to manipulate locks, handles, and the triggers on guns stolen from personnel. SCP-4331-M2 expiration generally results from starvation, asphyxiation, or the growth of antlers into the brain.
Type: M3
Description: Two sets of 10 meter-long hind legs are present, which the SCP-4331-M3 stand on, and the head is laterally widened in size. SCP-4331-M3 behave by picking up other elk and SCP-4331-M in their mouths and dropping them onto the roofs of sites. The legs tend to buckle after several minutes.
Type: M5
Description: Hexapedal body plans with tumorous masses on their torsos, from which elongated elk heads extend. The heads act as "barrels" that launch highly acidic and metal-corroding fluids, usually used to dissolve site walls. Expiration has in all cases occurred shortly after appearance in SATET Events, with the organism bodies dissolving themselves from the acids or intentionally detonating in the vicinity of security forces.
Type: M8
Description: Biological structures mimicking chemical rocket engines replace the anterior half of the body. High speed impacts have resulted in 12 personnel deaths and severe site damages.
Type: M10
Description: 12 elk fetuses arranged into a humanoid form.
The organism has only been observed during a SATET Event affecting Site BNF-3, in which it manifested by exiting the cranium of another elk, approached the facility, and was allowed inside by guards. It attempted to force itself between cracks in SCP-4331-3 containment chamber doors before liquifying. Guards interviewed afterwards recounted that the organism was "just a normal elk person."
The events began after containment of SCP-4331 was established. Initial incidents involved 10-20 deer with only one SCP-4331-M instance involved, though in following years the number of deer has dramatically increased, the most recent SATET Event reaching over 100 elk and 25 SCP-4331-M. The threat posed by SCP-4331-M has additionally increased, with the organisms possessing further weaponization, disfiguration, and intent to harm personnel.
Attempts at tracking SCP-4331-M have found no common point of origin, and the exact points of manifestation are unknown. Whether these organisms stem from anomalies similar to SCP-4331 instances or not is under investigation.
The only SCP-4331 generation which does not lead to disfigurement is that caused by physical interaction with other Rocky Mountain elk. In this case the cadavers will generate one to nine elk, all physically healthy. Continued observation of these elk have found no signs of anomalous phenomena or behavior.
It is of note that, since the containment of SCP-4331 instances, the population of Rocky Mountain elk in Banff National Park and the outlying area has been steadily declining.