When this couple first spotted a beautiful bull elk with a large piece of trash stuck to his antlers, they were hesitant to attempt a rescue. After all, it’s generally not safe to get too close to one of these massive creatures! However, days passed, and no one seemed to be helping this poor animal. That’s when Haley Swats and her husband decided to intervene — with extreme caution, of course!
Videos by InspireMore
Haley posted a video of the daring elk rescue on social media. In her clip, she shared some footage of the animal struggling with the cumbersome object tangled in his antlers. After spending a few days in this predicament, the creature was looking very unwell. When Haley called her dad about the situation, she explained that the elk couldn’t even hold his head up properly because of the extra weight on his antlers.
Obviously, this couple’s first course of action would have been to call wildlife management to handle the situation. Unfortunately, even the authorities didn’t feel comfortable interfering. Since it was rutting season, it would be even more dangerous than usual to try and rescue the elk. Tranquilizing him wasn’t an option during this time of year, either, because the drugs could cause serious harm.
Under the circumstances, the couple decided that they wanted to try to help the animal despite the risks. They had some apples in the car, so they figured they would lure him over with food. Once he was close enough, Haley’s husband would use his pocket knife to cut away at the piece of garbage.
It would be an extremely delicate undertaking, and there was a pretty high chance someone could get hurt! Thankfully, someone from wildlife management was there to oversee the process and call 911 if necessary. Haley’s dad also showed up, ready to rescue the elk.
In the end, it was the woman’s father who cut the animal free. Haley was so nervous, she didn’t even want to film this procedure. However, the elk must have known that the elderly man was only trying to help, because he was surprisingly cooperative. Of course, the guy didn’t stick around once the creature was free — he hightailed it to a reasonable distance as quickly as possible!
Although everything turned out for the best, both for the elk and his rescue team, Haley cautioned her followers against going anywhere near these animals.
“DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, it is extremely dangerous to approach elk” she wrote in the caption of her video.
She added, “This was a very sad/unique situation that needed immediate attention.”
We’re so glad that this elk is finally free and that nobody got hurt during the rescue!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.
