Suspenseful Bull Elk Rescue

By: Carol Muvihill

A young bull elk was found in severe distress at Benezette last Thursday, after his antlers became entangled in the chains of a playground swing set. He was rescued by Game Commission field staff.

Benezette Township Supervisor Jim McClusky drove to the Municipal Building, formerly the old schoolhouse, on Rt. 555 early that morning and was shocked by what he saw.

"A young bull elk, about a 5 by 5, had his antlers tangled up in the chains of a swing," McClusky said. "He was thrashing around in a desperate attempt to get loose."

McClusky quickly contacted the Game Commission and learned that officers were already on their way.

It turns out that Bradley Myers and his son Shane of Mechanicsburg had beaten him to the phone. They had set out early with camera gear in hopes of seeing elk.

Myers told the story in his blog: "Entering the small community, I always look to the left at the school building because elk are often seen feeding in the grass. This morning, I did a double take. As I headed for an area to turn around, I told Shane that he would never believe what I had just seen . . . it looked like a bull playing on the swings."

Photographer Bob Shank captured the moment when the entangled bull elk in Benezette was "free at last" from the chains of the swing set that had almost become a death trap. Doty McDowell and Mark Gritzer of the Game Commission performed the rescue. The duo soon realized that the elk's antlers were entangled in the chains and seats of two swings.

Knowing that there is no cell phone service in the small community, they immediately drove to the store in town to report the incident.

Wildlife Conservation Officer Doty McDowell and biologist aide Mark Gritzer responded. Both are experienced in aiding and rescuing injured and entrapped elk.

When Gritzer got there, he did an admirable job of keeping the growing throng of onlookers from further agitating the bull. McDowell administered the tranquilizer with a dart rifle. The men first discussed the risks of having the hanging weight of the animal suspended by the chains -- the antlers could pull off or the animal could develop diffi culty breathing.

Once the bull succumbed to the tranquilizer, his head was held upright in an ideal position and at an ideal height for the removal of the tangled chains as well as to maintain his breathing.

"But before we tranquilized him, the bull was thrashing and tugging so hard that he had actually pulled his right antler out at the base," Mc- Dowell said. "It was cracked and dangling by the skin tissue covering the skull, so we had to saw off the antler."

Eventually, the bull woke up and sauntered off toward the woods.

McDowell said the antler will not grow back this year, but noted that the injury will likely heal and the animal shouild live a normal life.

The incident reminded him of "Club," a bull that sustained a similar injury as a youngster. As the story goes, the raghorn had been sparring hard with another bull and cracked his left antler at the skull plate, leaving it dangling.

Game commission staff tranquilized the bull and sawed off the antler. It grew back deformed in the shape of a club for the next three years. After that, the antler grew upright and the bull became a dominant herd bull on Winslow Hill.

Both McDowell and Gritzer were heroes in another elk rescue two years ago when a young bull became entangled by a rope-and-tire swing that caught on its antlers. That rescue took place in the middle of Bennett's Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek, near the village of Grant. The animal is alive and thriving in the Quehanna wilderness.

If you visit Benezette, be on the lookout for "Chainey." He is the only bull elk with one antler at this time of the year, and his presence is the indisputable evidence of yet another successful elk rescue by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

See incredible photos and a video clip of the bull elk in distress on Bradley Myers' blog at http://bradleymyersphotography.

Photographer Bob Shank of Stroudsburg and his son also happened upon the scene just as the officer was tranquilizing the bull. He was impressed with the officers' professionalism and obvious expertise. See Shank's impressive photos by scrolling down the page at http://www.bobshankphotography.wordpress.com.