Yes, an elk.

Via Daily Camera:

A couple hundred people turned out tonight to light candles, sing and tell stories as they mourned a beloved bull elk killed on Mapleton Hill in Boulder.

“He was a beautiful animal,” said Nancy Platt, of Boulder. “He was hurting nobody. He didn’t deserve what he got.”

The elk was fatally shot by an on-duty Boulder police officer, who has since been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the results of an internal investigation.

A second off-duty officer, suspected of assisting in loading the animal’s body into a pickup truck and taking it away to be processed for meat, also was placed on leave.

Vigil organizer Jim Riemersma said he wanted to give the neighborhood an opportunity to grieve, celebrate and find “a little bit of closure.” The vigil was held on Mountain View Road at the site of a tree memorial and near the yard where the elk was shot.

“I know a lot of us have had a lot of anger, a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “Tonight’s a celebration, a celebration of the elk. We loved him. But I think he loved us, too, because he returned to this neighborhood.”

Still, emotions ran hot, with multiple calls to “fire the cops” and “jail the poachers.” A meeting between Boulder Chief Mark Beckner and residents concerned about the shooting is planned for Monday.