US moose free with tire on neck after two years

A moose that spent at least two years traipsing through the forests of the state of Colorado in the central United States with a tire around its neck is running free of that load after wildlife agents removed it.

Rescuers had to cut off the elk’s five-pointed horns because they were unable to cut the metal band from the tire.

Despite numerous sightings, the 270-pound moose was very elusive over the past two years.

He was spotted on Saturday afternoon and the officers managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart at him.

The animal’s neck was in very good condition despite all the friction.

Scott Murdoch, one of the two men who took out the tire, said, “The hair was pulled out a bit, there was a tiny open wound the size of a nickel or a quarter, but other than that it looked really cool.”

After removing the tire, the remains of pine needles and the dirt and antlers present in it, the moose weighs about 16 kg less.

The animal was first sighted by a wildlife official in July 2019 during a census of Rocky Mountain sheep and mountain goats in an area called Mount Evans Wilderness, along with Tire, the Department of Parks and Colorado said in a statement.

Madhu was about two years old at that time. Officials said in a statement that the animal was probably too small, before it had horns or had its head stuck in a tire during the winter.

“Wildlife conservation officials have observed that deer, elk, bears and other wild animals become entangled in many man-made gadgets, such as swings, hammocks, clothing, decorative or Christmas lights, furniture, tomato vines, chicken feeders, laundry basket, soccer goal or volleyball net and, yes, tyres,” he added in the statement.

DW/St/DGA/GM