Bull elk gets tire off neck after being trapped 2 years

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A bull elk with a tire around its neck for at least two years is finally free, thanks to Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers.

Wildlife officers Dawson Swanson and Scott Murdoch near the community of Pine, southwest of Denver, were able to tranquilize the elk and get the tire Saturday night.

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“It was tight removing it,” Murdoch said of pulling the tire off the bull’s neck, even after cutting its antlers off. “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. Fortunately, the bull’s neck still had a little room to move.”

Bull elk shed and regrow their antlers every year.

“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,” shared CPW.

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Wildlife officers had tried to tranquilize this bull three times earlier in the week. Four attempts were made in May and June in the Pleasant Park area of Conifer.

“Tranquilizer equipment is a relatively short-range tool and given the number of other elk moving together along with other environmental factors, you really need to have things go in your favor to have a shot or opportunity pan out,” Swanson said.

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