Video: Pierce County deputies use garden tools to save elk caught in swing

At the beginning of September, Pierce County deputies were called to save a young bull elk with its antlers caught in the rope of a tree swing.

Their body camera video shows them approaching the bucking and panicked animal, then using borrowed garden tools to cut the swing’s ropes.

More on Wash. wildlife: National Park Service considers plan to bring grizzly bears back to the Cascades

Deputies save elk stuck in tree swing. They responded to an injured animal call, but ended up saving this young bull elk.

Full video on
PCSD BLOTTER https://t.co/ZXrXJ6EYSz pic.twitter.com/bgLAlpftcp

— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) September 29, 2023

The elk was eventually freed, as the deputies dodged the big wooden swing and the charging elk. One of the deputies fell to the ground and rolled to get out of the way, but he avoided any injuries.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Blotter reminded readers this practice is “extremely dangerous” and the law enforcement agency “would never want you to try this at home.”