Elk on a shelf: Colorado wildlife officials rescue elk tangled in rope on ice climbing route

LAKE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Wildlife officials and several climbers rescued a bull elk by lowering it down a cliff after the animal became entangled in a rope at a popular ice climbing area in southwestern Colorado.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said a group of ice climbers in Lake City encountered the distressed elk Friday morning, and a CPW biologist darted the ungulate with a tranquilizer and covered part of its head with a ski mask to protect its eyes during the rescue.

The team cut the rope away from the elk's antlers but needed a way to get the 700-pound (318-kilogram) animal down fr...