More dramatic camera angle when they walk up on an animal they already know is dead. TV is all about hype, thrill, and drama. Seldom will they show real mistakes.
In real life, not stepping up where you can get gored or bitten is smarter. Touching the eye is the true test because a blink is a reflex and a truly dead animal has no reflexes. A blink means it is still alive. Poking it in the butt with a barrel is not definitive. Animals that have been spined high on the vertebral processes (not a severed spine) or otherwise knocked down/out and/or temporarily paralyzed can suddenly come to life when you cause them to get an injection of adrenaline by touching them. That is when you want to be out of range of feet and horns, antlers, or teeth.
It is smarter to approach from the rear, and along the line of the back so you are out of reach. On something the size of an elk, mind the length of the antlers. Even a spined animal shot behind the shoulders can still swing its head around and may be able to nail you with a front hoof.
You don't want to start field dressing an animal that is not dead. You could be badly injured.
