Another large animal falls into a Hailey basement
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HAILEY — For a second time in four days, a large animal fell into the basement of a Hailey home.
“I wished we were making this up folks…. but just minutes ago, another elk was confronted by our Conservation Officers for breaking and entering,” a post on the Idaho Fish and Game Magic Valley Facebook page reads. “This elk crashed through a window well in a basement in Hailey.”
Coincidentally, the incident happened on Groundhog Day — which occurred on Thursday — and is similar to the report of a moose that fell into another Hailey basement just 96 hours earlier.
In Thursday’s situation, a man living on North Ridge Drive called police around 6:50 p.m. after an elk came crashing through his basement window.
“He said the elk fell right through into his basement and was just standing there,” Hailey Police Lt. Steve England told EastIdahoNews.com.
RELATED | MOOSE FALLS INTO BASEMENT OF HAILEY HOME
Hailey police officers and conservation officers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game responded to the home.
“The elk just looked confused,” said IDFG regional conversation officer Josh Royse. “Sometimes they can be pretty ornery and this one was pretty calm. She was just standing there waiting for something to happen.”
“Officer Lee Garwood was able to negotiate with the elk by smacking it on the rump with a hockey stick.”
Officers blocked doors in the home and were able to get the elk up the stairs and out the front door.
“Officer Lee Garwood was able to negotiate with the elk by smacking it on the rump with a hockey stick he found in the basement, convincing it to vacate,” according to the IDFG Magic Valley Facebook post.
England said last year an elk fell into a Hailey window well but he’s never seen the same thing happen twice — let alone in the same week.
On Sunday, Jan. 29, a moose fell into a 3-foot deep window well and made her way into a home in the Della View subdivision. The animal was tranquilized and then carried up the stairs and out the front door.
Large amounts of wildlife are being reported near residential areas due to heavy snowfall this winter.
“We advise everyone to cover up their window wells until the wildlife disperse,” England said.