Elk on a shelf: Colorado wildlife officials rescue elk tangled in rope on ice climbing route

Wildlife officials have rescued a bull elk by lowering it down a cliff after the animal became entangled in a rope at a popular ice climbing area in southwestern Colorado. A group of ice climbers in Lake City encountered the distressed elk Friday, and a Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist darted the ungulate with a tranquilizer. The team cut the rope away from the elk’s antlers but needed to get the animal down from the climbing wall. That’s when the climbers came to the rescue by helping rig a system to lower the 700-pound animal to the base of the route.