Construction equipment used to rescue elk after it got stuck in a trench

ALPINE, Ariz. — Bobcat construction equipment helped save an elk that got stuck in a trench in Alpine, Arizona.

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The Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a social media post Thursday that one of its managers completed a helicopter elk survey when she got a call from the Alpine Fire Department, according to KTVK. The fire department said a raghorn bull elk was stuck in what they believed was a 6-foot trench.

She tried to dig the elk out when she arrived in the area but he was stuck in the trench pretty good. According to the news outlet, time was of the essence because the elk was getting very tired.

That was when the manager saw a homeowner in the area using Bobcat construction equipment and she asked to use it, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said. The homeowner said of course brought the Bobcat over.

“I tied a quick release knot around the antlers, and we slowly pulled the bull out. Once it got out of the trench, it quickly got its legs back under him. I released the knot and the bull ran off unharmed,” Arizona Game & Fish Department Pinetop Wildlife Manager Kalyn Miller said in a statement.

“I’m sure the bull will need a recovery day, but it won’t take him long for him to get back into the rut,” Miller said.