Elk NetworkElk, Deer Freed from Entanglements

General | November 19, 2021

Hammocks, soccer nets, tricycles, tires, garden cages, clothes lines, plastic fencing, lawn chairs, Christmas lights and list goes on and on. It’s a never-ending problem, especially during the rut. Elk and deer seeking to mate continue to get tied up, tangled, trapped and even killed by all sorts of manmade items.

In Castle Pines, just south of Denver, a 5×5 bull elk got all tangled up in rope and fence posts means to cordon off a section of a golf course. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) sedated the animal, removed the entanglements and sent it on its way.

It was a spooky sight in southwest Colorado where a young mule deer had a Halloween skull and skeleton stuck in its antlers.

And in Parker, a suburb of Denver, another mule deer had the remains of a hammock so tightly wrapped around its head and body that it died because the rope cut off circulation.

CPW encourages landowners to clear their land of anything that may become an obstacle for elk, deer and other wildlife. Officials encourage people to hang outdoor Christmas lights and other decorations above six feet or attached tightly to trees and buildings. Lights that hang low or that are draped insecurely over vegetation can get tangled easily in antlers.

(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)