There’s nothing that makes a hunt more enjoyable and exciting than seeing wild animals up-close on the landscape. A couple of bowhunters, however, had an extremely different kind of up-close-and-personal encounter during a recent hunt in Montana.
![]()
“It wasn't a good sight upon initially walking up to her,” said Seth Wheeler, a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation from Montana.
Wheeler and hunting partner Jim Loomis came across an elk calf stuck in a barb wire fence. Its front right and rear left legs were so tightly tangled in the four-strand fencing that it could only lay on its back. It took the two hunters 30 to 45 minutes of work to finally free the calf.
Once free, it was so zapped of energy that it could not move. Loomis drew close, removed the water bladder from his backpack and offered it to the calf. It drank and drank.
 |
| Wheeler and the calf shortly after freeing it |
“It seemed like she knew we were there to help her,” said Wheeler.
Eventually Loomis and Wheeler went on their way knowing they did all they could to help.
“We left her laying there with her head up looking around. She was still very weak. We did not go back to that area hunting, so I cannot say beyond a reasonable doubt that she indeed did survive,” added Wheeler. “With that said, she looked like she was on her way to recovery and we at least gave her a chance.
"We are hunters, but above all we are conservationists and wanted nothing more than to save this majestic animal!”
"We are hunters, but above all we are conservationists and wanted nothing more than to save this majestic animal!”
 |
| Loomis shares his water |