Colorado wildlife officers rescue tarp-entangled elk in a ditch

April 6 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in Colorado came to the rescue of a young bull elk that became trapped in a muddy ditch with its head entangled in a large blue tarp.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Northeast Region tweeted that officers responded to a ditch on the west side of Loveland on a report of an elk in distress.

Officials said the tarp was severely entangled around the elk's face and they feared the animal was accidentally inhaling water from the ditch while trying to free itself, so they used a knife on a pole to cut through the part of the tarp covering the animal's nose and mouth.

"It all worked out and wildlife officers were able to cut him free. They noted that the elk would be just fine and were thankful of the resident who reported it so they could free it," CPW NE Region tweeted.

The Twitter thread included a video of the elk running off into the distance after being freed.