Elk carried rope swing stuck on antlers for 6 months. He’s finally free, CO video shows
A bull elk carried around a huge circular rope swing stuck on his antlers for six months in Colorado, wildlife officials say.
Officials opted to let him be as long as he was able to move freely to eat and drink, according to an April 17 Facebook post on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife page for Estes Park, where the elk lives. But when the rope unraveled and wound around his hind hoof, it was time to intervene.
“For most antlered animals with minor entanglements where the animal is mobile and doesn’t interfere with eating or drinking, we don’t intervene,” officials wrote in the post. “Especially when the shedding of antlers would solve the predicament.”
But when the rope wrapped around the elk’s leg, that changed.
Wildlife officer Chase Rylands, who had been monitoring the elk since it first became entangled in the swing in October, was concerned the elk would drag the swing once it shed its antlers “and cause a catastrophic entanglement,” the post says.
Rylands tried to find the elk to tranquilize him several times and was finally able to do it on April 6. Since then, officials received reports from the public that the elk shed its antlers around April 8 and that it was seen with another bull elk, officials said in the post.
“This is yet ANOTHER reminder to keep swings, hammocks, clotheslines, and anything else that can entangle wildlife down while not in use,” officials said in the post. “Especially during the late Summer and Fall when male ungulates are scrapping their antlers on anything they can find.”
Wildlife officers get calls every year about deer stuck in netting and holiday decorations, especially holiday lights, McClatchy News previously reported.
During mating season, known as the rut, some shared that they wanted to try prying the swing from the elk’s antlers. Officials warned them not to because it’s too dangerous to approach elk in the middle of the rut when bulls are aggressive and loaded with testosterone, McClatchy News reported.
Officials shared a video of Rylands cutting the tranquilized elk free from the tangled rope.
“Come on, wake up. Let’s go,” Rylands says as he taps on the elk’s rump to wake it.
“There you go,” he says as the elk shakily stands and stumbles away from Rylands.
People who had been following the elk’s struggle shared that they were relieved to see it freed in the comments and thanked officials for rescuing it.
“Yay! You’ve made a lot of people happy with that rescue. Thanks!” someone said.
“Thank you so much. Was so hard watching him limp and suffer. Glad he is finally free!” someone else agreed.
“And just like that the nightmare was over! Thank you so very much!”
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