Elk with tyre stuck around its neck for two years freed with help from wildlife officers - In Pics

Wildlife officials in Colorado say an elusive elk that has been wandering the hills with a car tyre around its neck for at least two years has finally been freed of the obstruction. See how Colorado wildlife officers conducted the operations

The bull elk weighinh 600-pound (270-kilogram) was spotted near Pine Junction, southwest of Denver, on Saturday evening and tranquilized, as per a statement by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The officers cut off the elk's five-point antlers to remove the tyre because they couldn't slice through the steel in the bead of the tyre.

"We would have preferred to cut the tyre and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to just get the tyre off in any way possible," officer Scott Murdoch was quoted as saying by PTI.

Murdoch and fellow officer Dawson Swanson estimated that the elk lost about 35 pounds (16 kilograms) with the removal of the tyre, the antlers and debris which had collected inside the tyre.

The wildlife officers had first spotted the elk with the tyre around its neck in July 2019 while conducting a population survey for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

They say they have seen deer, elk, moose, bears and other wildlife become entangled in a number of items, including swing sets, hammocks, clotheslines, decorative or holiday lighting, furniture, tomato cages, chicken feeders, laundry baskets, soccer goals and volleyball nets.