For two years, this handsome bull elk, a resident of Pine Colorado, lived with a tire stuck around its neck. Human residents had reported the bull's unfortunate situation to Colorado Parks and Wildlife but the animal was difficult to locate. Finally on Saturday after four days of tracking, the officers were able to get close to the elk who was traveling in a herd and tranquilize the animal.
Unfortunately they had to cut off the 600 pound bull's antlers in order to remove the tire. The antlers will grow back. From Colorado Parks and Wildlife:
[Officers Dawson] Swanson and [Scott] Murdoch estimated that the bull elk dropped roughly 35 pounds between the removal of the tire, his antlers and the debris that was inside the tire.
"The tire was full of wet pine needles and dirt," Murdoch said. "So the pine needles, dirt and other debris basically filled the entire bottom half of the tire. There was probably 10 pounds of debris in the tire."[…]
The saga of this bull elk highlights the need for residents to live responsibly with wildlife in mind. That includes keeping your property free of obstacles that wildlife can get tangled in or injured by. Wildlife officers have seen deer, elk, moose, bears and other wildlife become entangled in a number of man-made obstacles that include swing sets, hammocks, clothing lines, decorative or holiday lighting, furniture, tomato cages, chicken feeders, laundry baskets, soccer goals or volleyball nets, and yes, tires.
images: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
