'Tire-d' Elk Rescued

Pennsylvania Game Commission employees found this bull elk with a tire swing tangled in its left antler along the bank of the Sinnemahoning Creek. PGC personnel (from left) Wildlife Conservation Officer Doty Mcdowell and PGC elk biologist aides Mark Gritzer and Josc McBride were among the crew that tranquilized the elk and removed the mess from its antlers. The animal was then tagged and collared to aid the PGC in its research of the state's herd.

A team of Pa. Game Commission (PGC) employees rescued a bull elk that found itself in an odd predicament early this week.

Sometime over the weekend, the animal snared a tire swing with its antlers and was becoming weary from lugging around the added cargo.

Alerted by a canoeist paddling along Sinnemahoning Creek, PGC officials tracked down the six-by-six bull on Monday morning.

"When we found it by the bank of the creek, it was weakened and exhausted," said Tony Ross, PGC Wildlife Management Supervisor. "The tire had filled with water, and the weight was too much for the elk to keep its head up any longer."

PGC personnel shot the 600- pound animal with a tranquilizer dart, prompting it to retreat into the creek.

After the tire and rope were removed, Game Commission biologists placed a numbered collar on the animal to track it as part of the agency's ongoing elk research. By 3:00 p.m., the big bull had regained its senses and trotted away.

"It certainly was a thrilling, yet anxious, time for all involved," Ross said.

He theorized thatwith breeding season underway, the elk was probably marking its territory by rubbing its antlers on a tree containing the swing.