He was completely stuck
Published on Jan 18, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Earlier this month, three ice climbers were out enjoying a day outdoors when they spotted an elk whose antlers were completely entangled in a climbing rope.
The more the elk moved his head to try to free himself from the rope, the more twisted up he got. Stuck on the side of a steep, icy slope, the elk had no way of freeing himself from his predicament.
Since the climbers noticed the elk first thing in the morning, it’s likely he’d been stuck there all night. So the climbers knew they had to act quickly to help him.
They called the authorities, and by 9 a.m., Lucas Martin, Alyssa Meier, Paul Rivera and Anna Markey from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) had arrived at the scene.
When the CPW team arrived, they took their time to fully assess the situation. They estimated that the elk was a little over 2 years old and weighed approximately 700 pounds — full-grown elk bulls can weigh up to 1,100 pounds.
Given the elk’s size as well as the level of stress he was under, the team decided it would be safest for the animal as well as the rescuers to temporarily tranquilize him. Once the elk was sedated, the CPW team was able to cut away the ropes tangled around his antlers.
But the elk wasn’t in the clear just yet. Since he was still stuck on the slope, the CPW team and the ice climbers put their heads together to figure out a way to use the climbing ropes to slowly lower him to the ground.
“What’s cool is that the ice climbers used their knowledge of ropes and pulley systems and anchors … to help our team,” John Livingston, CPW’s Southwest Region public information officer, told The Dodo.
The climbers’ compassion and patience are what allowed the rescue to go so smoothly. While they noticed the elk around 7 a.m., it wasn’t until 11 a.m. that the elk was freed.
“[We’re] really thankful that they were so interested in the well-being of this animal and that they were willing to stick around, because … they kind of derailed a little bit of their climbing day to help us out with this and make sure the animal got out of there safely,” Livingston said.
Four hours after the ice climbers initially discovered the elk, he was finally safe. Once his tranquilizer was reversed, all it took was a few minutes for him to wake up before he ran off into the woods.
To support other animals like this elk, donate to Colorado Parks and Wildlife here.