BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Idaho Fish and Game asks property owners to remove and securely store potential entanglement items in an area that wildlife cannot access.
No matter the year, wildlife, especially elk, deer and moose, can become entangled in items left around homes and farmyards around Idaho. These entanglements happen more frequently during the winter but can happen anytime when wildlife is attracted to neighborhood yards and farms.
One of the most common entanglements was wire tomato cages around the necks of elk. Tomato cages are particularly troublesome because removal typically will not occur without human intervention.
The Wood River Valley also saw wildlife entangled with 5-gallon buckets, a plastic sled, Christmas lights, and lead ropes/horse halters.
In October 2022, a bull elk died after becoming entangled in a yard swing south of Ketchum.
Ordinary items recently found entangled in wildlife include swing sets, hammocks, lawn decorations, tennis court nets, Christmas wreaths, clotheslines, food containers, barbed wire, bailing twine, and haystack tarps.
If a decorative pond is not drained before winter, it can become hazardous to wildlife. Every year, moose, elk, and deer fall through the ice and become trapped in decorative ponds, particularly in the Wood River Valley.
In the winter of 2022–23, a moose calf succumbed to hypothermia and exhaustion after falling through ice in an upper Wood River Valley decorative pond.
Elk and moose have become trapped in window wells. When winter snow gets deep, the area under the house’s eaves is often the easiest place for wildlife to walk, which is also where window wells are located.
To keep wildlife from falling in while maintaining a safe escape route for occupants, Idaho Fish and Game suggests leaning boards diagonally across the opening from the lawn to the side of the house, hopefully encouraging animals to walk around, and not over, the window well.
If you observe wildlife with any entanglement or see it become trapped after falling through ice or into a window well, call the Idaho Fish and Game’s Magic Valley Regional Office at (208)324-4359 or your local Fish and Game office.