An elusive moose that has been roaming the Colorado hills with a car tire around its neck for at least two years has finally freed itself from the obstruction, wildlife officials said.
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The four-and-a-half-year-old, 600-pound moose was seen near Pine Junction, southwest of Denʋer, Saturday night and tranquilized, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Agency officials had to cut the five-point antlers off the moose to remove the encumbrance because they couldn’t cut the steel in the tire head.
“We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for their mating activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to remove the tire any way possible,” said Officer Scott Murdoch.
Video: Moose finally has tire removed from neck after two years
Video: Distressed moose seen wandering through the woods with a tire around its neck
Mr Murdoch and his colleague Dawson Swanson estimated the moose shed 35 liters with the tire, antlers and debris inside the tire breaking off.
Murdoch said: ‘The tire was full of wet pine needles and dirt. So pine needles, dirt, and other debris pretty much filled the entire bottom half of the tire. There was proƄally 10 pounds of debris in the tire.’
Wildlife Officer Swanson said they were able to locate the animal after receiving a tip from a local resident.
He said: ‘I was able to respond quickly to a report from a local resident about a recent sighting of this full moose in their neighbourhood. I was able to locate the animal in question along with a herd of 40 other elk.
Saturday’s successful operation was the fourth time in a week that officers attempted to tranquilize the moose.
Wildlife officers first spotted the moose with the tire around its neck in July 2019 while conducting a population study of Rocky Mountain sheep and mountain goats in the Mount Eʋans Wilderness.
They say they have seen deer, elk, moose, ears and other eco-friendly wildlife tangled in a number of items, including swings, hammocks, clotheslines, Christmas decorations or lights, furniture, tomato cages, chicken feeders, laundry baskets, goals for the feet. and ʋolleyƄall networks.
Last year, the agency issued a public request for information that would help them locate the moose.
The organization previously shared footage from one of its trail cameras that showed the animal wandering through the Arapahoe-Rooseʋelt National Forest with the tufa trapped above its head.
Rangers said the moose had been seen on surveillance footage several times, and they had feared for its life before the tire was removed.
Speaking previously with Fox 31, CPW spokesperson Jason Clay said it’s not uncommon for game wardens to discover moose with different objects stuck around their antlers and necks.
We see it too often, whether it’s, you know, a hammock caught in it, Christmas lights, ropes, tires around the neck. Unfortunately, it happens quite often here in Colorado,’ he said.
Members of the public had also previously warned against attempting to remove the tire from the moose’s neck.