Elk roaming Colorado with a car tire around its neck for 2 years is finally freed

October 12, 2021 / 8:53 AM / CBS/AP

Wildlife officials in Colorado say an elusive elk that has been wandering the hills with a car tire around its neck for at least two years has finally been freed of the obstruction. The elk was spotted in July of 2019 with the cumbersome necktie but evaded capture until Saturday night, CBS Denver reports.

The 4-and-a-half-year-old, 600-pound bull elk was spotted near Pine Junction, southwest of Denver, on Saturday evening and tranquilized, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Officers with the agency had to cut off the elk's five-point antlers to remove the encumbrance because they couldn't slice through the steel in the bead of the tire.

There were no athletes or cheerleaders on the field. Neither were there band members or boosters in the bleachers. It wasn’t homecoming either. But the football field at Golden High School, located some 14 miles straight west of downtown Denver, recently hosted more action that any other sports field in the country.