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

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.

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