Last fall, Idaho elk got caught in a hammock. He was just found tangled in a swing
On Monday, Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers freed a bull elk whose antlers had become entangled in a backyard swing — the second time in recent months that this particular animal had to be anesthetized and rescued from outdoor equipment, according to an agency news release.
Fish and Game received a report Monday that the elk had become tangled in a swing hanging from a tree in a backyard in Gimlet, a small town about halfway between Hailey and Ketchum in the Wood River Valley. By the time officers responded, the elk had broken the swing off of the tree, but the wooden seat and several feet of rope were tangled in the animal’s antlers.
Senior conservation officer Brandyn Hurd said in the news release that it’s the second time this bull has become caught in yard equipment. In October, the elk was found with a rope hammock tangled around its antlers. Fish and Game said the elk was seen swimming in a river with the heavy, water-logged hammock weighing its head down. The elk was anesthetized and the hammock removed, and the bull was given a green ear tag with an ID number.
Hurd and wildlife biologist Jake Powell again anesthetized the bull on Monday and were able to confirm its ID tag matched the elk that had been stuck in the hammock. They removed the swing from the animal’s antlers before reversing the anesthesia.
Fish and Game encouraged people living in winter range to secure outdoors items like lights and playground equipment in order to keep wildlife safe.
“All backyard furniture and playground equipment needs to be removed and secured during the winter months,” Hurd said. “Wildlife can easily get entangled in this equipment, which puts the animal at risk, but it also puts the Fish and Game team at risk when using drugs to anesthetize the animal and working to free them from backyard equipment.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 3:10 PM.
