BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado (KDVR) – This is a sight you don’t see every day.
A moose needed to be rescued by Colorado Parks and Wildlife after stumbling into the basement of a home in Breckinridge on Monday, CPW reported.
Officers with CPW were notified of the situation around 3:30 p.m., after the animal had fallen through a snow-covered window well while grazing nearby.
Once inside the house, the moose was said to be trapped. A photo released by CPW shows the animal standing in the basement near an entertainment center, a rowing machine, a ping-pong table and what appears to be an overturned chair. A representative for CPW confirmed to Nexstar that the moose was responsible for the damage seen in the photo.
CPW officers arrived and tried to get the moose up the stairs and out the doors, but they could not get the moose to leave the basement. Ultimately, CPW officers needed to tranquilize the moose and cut off its antlers, at which point it was carried up the stairs with the help of local police, fire and EMS workers.
The moose suffered only a small cut on its leg, according to the CPW, and was released back into the wild. Its antlers will regrow in spring. (CPW said that moose antlers typically fall off this time of the year anyway.)
As unique as this situation may seem, CPW said it’s an important reminder about removing vegetation that may attract unwanted visitors near the home.
“It’s important that window wells allow people in a home to escape in the event of an emergency, but at times they can be hazards to wildlife,” said Jermony Huntington, the CPW area wildlife manager, in a media release issued Tuesday. “Removing vegetation that may attract wildlife around the vicinity of window wells and covering below ground window wells with approved grates that allow people to escape, will reduce the likelihood of wildlife becoming trapped, or in this case, having an unwelcome visitor in the home.”
