Elk found in CO mine shaft

[mdeerjunkie]

Thought this was interesting.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is a nationally recognized leader in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. The agency manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. CPW issues hunting and fishing...

cpw.state.co.us

 

[joshs]

Damn, going to have to start checking holes for those things!! They are getting better at hiding!

 

[teej89]

That is wild!

 

[WyoDoug]

This is actually fairly common. Vent shafts exist all over the state and not all are registered with USGS or on any map. Years ago I worked at a uranium mine west of Golden and they found a shaft from an earlier mining operation while they were blasting uranium loose.

 

[kwyeewyk]

A guy I know came across a spike in a similar situation here in Washington, a larger hole, but still completely stuck. If I remember right it had access to water, but not enough food and so was doomed to starvation. It was still in pretty good condition when he found it though. Can't remember how he got it out.

 

[runningmt]

Damn, going to have to start checking holes for those things!! They are getting better at hiding!

We always joke that they seem to go underground when season starts!

 

[diamond hitch]

That hole looks like a prospect pit. Just in good rock. Mine maps with any of the gov. Organizations would file mine maps. Prospect pits like that wouldn't show up anywhere.
In Montana, some of them were backfilled by the abandoned mines bureau(DEQ) or by the surface management agency (BLM, USFS, NPS etc). In wilderness areas they were inventoried by the US BUREAU OF MINES. They have been inventoried by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in the nonwilderness areas. I have provided locations to the management agencies if they are a danger. I have seen deer and bear in mine portals in the summer because they are cool. In Hells canyon many of the portals were filled with rattlesnakes and the end of the drift had porcupines and dead sheep. In Washington it was Pikas and wood rats. Lots of wildlife opportunities.

 

[antlerradar]

A few years back I read about a hole in the Big Horns. Had critters in it dating all the way back to the ice age.

 

[antlerradar]

A few years back I read about a hole in the Big Horns. Had critters in it dating all the way back to the ice age.

I googled it. The cave is called Natural Trap Cave.

 

[JMG]

I googled it. The cave is called Natural Trap Cave.

I spoke to guy who is an archeologist that had been in that cave, he was fascinated with the number of "animal bones" in that cave and how far back the bones pre-dated. He stated you needed "special" permission and I don't believe they even allow anyone down there anymore. It's fenced off, restricting access.

 

[ZBB]

I googled it. The cave is called Natural Trap Cave.

I looked that up, that’s pretty cool. Sure seems like the bighorns are full of cool stuff.

On another note, I like walking up to holes and mine shafts just to see if there’s anything cool around them. If I ever walk up to one and see something looking back at me I’ll probably have to change my undies.

 

[diamond hitch]

Three of us were mapping an inclined shaft in the Viola district near Dubois, Idaho (Italian Peaks WSA) and down near the bottom of the sump my I caught movement below me. When you are in a 400 ft shaft and going down timber by timber anything fast isn't an option. When I got stabilized, I starred at the location carefully and to my amazement a set of green irridecent eyes starred back and then blinked. A very scary moment. Closer inspection revealed it to be a young domestic sheep. I still didn't sleep well for a couple nights.

 

[AggieHunter]

This is actually fairly common. Vent shafts exist all over the state and not all are registered with USGS or on any map. Years ago I worked at a uranium mine west of Golden and they found a shaft from an earlier mining operation while they were blasting uranium loose.

Did some backpacking in southwest Colorado and found a lot and most looked like they went back a ways

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

Wild story , that’s one lucky elk