Massive group of elk races drivers as it dashes along Utah freeway, video shows
A massive group of elk dashed along a snowy Utah freeway and slowed down drivers as wildlife officers tried to herd them to safety.
The herd of about 60 elk was first spotted Thursday, Jan. 26, near Interstate 80 in Salt Lake City, said Faith Heaton Jolley, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
“Not an ideal spot for them,” Jolley said.
#BREAKING Large herd of elk running along I-215 near Parleys Way, be careful driving in the area pic.twitter.com/tYezvJJwd5
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) January 26, 2023
Then conservation officers began trying to herd the animals away from the freeway along Foothill Drive, she said.
A video shows the animals getting farther from the freeway.
Our @UtahDWR conservation officers then herded them out of that pocket and up along Foothill Drive to get them away from the freeway (kudos to @UTHighwayPatrol for the traffic control) pic.twitter.com/AQqGXbOfVU
— Faith Heaton Jolley (@FaithHJolley) January 26, 2023
Once officers and biologists helped them onto the road, they navigated them to a trail and back into the mountains, Jolley said.
Jolley said big game animals sometimes migrate into cities looking for food during the winter when the snow falls.
“If you see elk, moose or deer lingering in a neighborhood or trapped on or near a freeway, please call the nearest (wildlife) office so we can relocate them,” she wrote. “Stay safe out there kids, and help us keep wildlife wild.”
Our officers and biologists herded them across the roadway and they headed up the Shoreline Trail back toward the mountains, which is the goal pic.twitter.com/89ziX9eX5H
— Faith Heaton Jolley (@FaithHJolley) January 26, 2023
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