JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A young bull elk had an adventurous weekend after getting its antlers tangled up in a child's swing.
> The video above is from 2020 when parks officers were looking for an elk that had a tire caught around its neck.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) said the two-and-a-half-year-old elk was first spotted on Saturday near the Evergreen Golf Course. The elk then made its way to the Big R store off of Stagecoach Boulevard, then to Kittredge, and was spotted again off Parmalee Gulch Road in Indian Hills Monday morning, CPW said.
A neighbor called in the elk's location and CPW officers were able to get there quickly to tranquilize the elk, CPW said.
Once the elk was sedated, officers tagged the elk and cut the swing away from the animal's antlers, CPW said. Officers also cut off the elk's antlers to keep it from being harvested this hunting season, CPW said.
Elk caught in child's swing freed
Officers said the elk had non-typical antlers. This often occurs when the pedicle, or base where the antlers grow, is damaged at an early age, CPW said.
CPW wants to remind residents to remove items from yards that could entangle big game animals like elk, deer and moose. Wildlife have gotten tangled up in hammocks, soccer goals, volleyball nets, Christmas lights, tires, tomato cages, plastic fencing and other items, according to CPW.
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