After many attempts, wildlife officers finally remove tire that was around an elk’s neck for over years

After two long years, wildlife officials have finally removed a tire stuck around an elk’s neck. 

In 2019, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife(CPW) officer spotted a bull elk with a tire stuck around its neck. At the time, he was conducting a population survey of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats in the Mount Evans Wilderness.

As per CNN, CPW officer Scott Murdoch explained in a news release:

“Being up in the wilderness, we didn’t really expect to be able to get our hands on the elk just because of the proximity or the distance away from civilization. It is harder to get the further they are back in there and usually the further these elk are away from people, the wilder they act. That certainly played true the last couple of years, this elk was difficult to find, and harder to get close to.”

Here is some video of this bull elk over the past two years. pic.twitter.com/R6t9nNPOyb

— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) October 11, 2021

In the last two years, the elk has been recognized several times by trail cameras. According to the release, the wild animal was traveling between Park and Jefferson counties.

As wildlife officials monitored the elk, they concluded the tire was not affecting its ability to eat and drink.

However, they feared the 4-year-old deer would become tangled in tree branches, fencing, or even with another elk’s antlers.

Fortunately, last weekend officers were finally able to successfully set the animal free from the tire. Officer Murdoch said:

“It was not easy for sure. We had to move it just right to get it off because we weren’t able to cut the steel in the bead of the tire. We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to just get the tire off in any way possible.”

The tire was filled with about 10 pounds of debris, but the condition of the elk’s neck was surprisingly good. The officer noted:

“The hair was rubbed off a little bit. There was one small open wound maybe the size of a nickel or quarter, but other than that it looked really good.  I was actually quite shocked to see how good it looked.”

Nevertheless, the wildlife officials are still baffled at how the animal got the tire stuck. Some speculate it happened when the elk was younger. It could have also occurred during the winter when it sheds its antlers.

Whatever the reason was, it shows how humans’ irresponsible behavior often affects the most innocent creatures. To avoid similar incidents, the CPW urges people to keep their property free of obstacles wildlife could become entangled in like netting, hammocks, clothing lines, and holiday lighting.