An elk trapped whose antlers got stuck in some downed telephone and cable wires got freed with some help from quick-thinking first responders in Oregon.
The large 'magnificent creature' was trapped near Butte Falls, according to the Oregon State Police, who shared video on Friday of the moment the elk was saved.
The department shared in their caption that Pacific Power arrived to the scene to cut the power line while the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted in tranquilizing the animal so it could be freed.
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The large 'magnificent creature' was trapped near Butte Falls, according to the Oregon State Police
A brief clip shows the elk stuck in the wires and trying to free itself but failing to do so.
Someone with the ODFW can be seen positioning themselves so that they can tranquilize the elk.
It stumbles for a bit after being shot before eventually plopping to the ground.
Pacific Power arrived to cut the power lines while biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife assisted in tranquilizing the elk
A photo still at the end of the video shows the various folk at the scene using large industrial pliers to free the elk.
According to Matthew Vargas, one of the ODFW biologist at the scene, said that the elk appeared to be stuck in the wires at a ranch for some hours.
The elk - with its six points and weighing between 700 and 800lbs - was one of the 'larger ones' that the biologist had ever seen, he explained to Oregon Live.
It took roughly a half an hour to get the elk to a point where the team could get it free from the wires.
Video shows the moment when the elk - which had six points and weighed between 700 and 800lbs - was shot and freed from the wire
'It was a good team effort,' Vargas said. 'We always hope for incidents like this to go so smoothly. You couldn't have asked for better.'
While wildfires have been threatening the state, it is not believed that this particular elk was displaced by any fires.
Vargas shared that it is fairly common for elk to have things stuck in their antlers.
'It's just in their nature to always be playing with things with their antlers,' he said. 'They can't help themselves.'
