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LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas Valley Water District worker named David Cullen has created an online stir with a video showing the rescue of a large bull elk. Cullen posted the video on his Facebook page, explaining that he and some friends noticed the elk with their spotting scopes.
“Just glassing and saw them from the vantage point we were at,” he said in the post. “After a bit of him never lifting his head, we changed the point we were looking from and saw the other bull under him.”
The “other bull” Cullen referred to was a second elk that had locked antlers with the first. As the powerful bulls battled, they then become tangled in a barbed wire fence. The struggle must have been brutal, because Cullen reported that the two animals ripped out “about 70 feet of 3-strand barbed wire fence, posts included.”
Cullen filmed the action as he and his friends approached the elk. You can view that video by clicking here. The standing elk appeared exhausted and because of the snarl around its antlers, it barely moved as the men watched it from only a short distance away. At this point, it became apparent that the elk on the ground had already died.
Wildlife officials were summoned and the video Cullen took of them rescuing the living elk has been viewed more than 1 million times. An officer is seen yanking on the antlers while others assist with wire cutters for the snarled barbed wire.
The big bull summoned enough strength to begin pulling its antlers away and the officers continued to assist. Finally, the animal broke free. Though it staggered initially, the elk quickly regained its balance.
Before it ran off into the distance, the majestic bull stared directly at its rescuers.
“He looked at all of us as to say 'thanks,' ” Cullen posted as a comment on the video. “I watched him for about 20 minutes, he crossed the highway safely, and really got his feet under him and was almost to the timber when I stopped watching.”
Grant Olsen joined the KSL.com contributor team in 2012. He covers outdoor adventures, travel, product reviews and other interesting things. You can contact him at grantorrin@gmail.com.
