Only 3 of 8 Elk Escape Death After Falling Through Ice at Colorado Golf Course

it's definitely not terribly uncommon to hear about a deer or an elk falling through ice and needing rescuing in Colorado; it is, however, rare for so many perish at one scene.

Now that spring has arrived, many golf fans in Colorado are starting to get back to the links in Colorado. In the Aspen area, the conditions are still cold enough to ice over ponds at a golf course, where elk have little understanding of the danger.

Aspen Glen Golf Club is in Carbondale, Colorado, which is about 40 miles northwest of Aspen. During the golf season, you probably see the seen above, a lot. During late March, the temperatures aren't as comfortable, and the water is frozen over. An accident of nature happened at Aspen Glen on March 22, 2023.

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According to Aspen Daily Times, things like this at Aspen Glen don't happen that often. It was just a matter of "too much at one time." In the end, it's really kind of amazing that three of the eight elk survived, at all. Is there a way to prevent it from happening, again?

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The accident came about because, in a rarity, there were eight elk congregated in one spot on one of the ponds at the golf course. The ice gave way, and all eight went into the icy water. Citizens, member of the grounds crew from the golf course, and the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District worked to rescue all eight, but only three were able to be pulled from the water before freezing and drowning.

According to Aspen Daily News, there are suggestions of putting up fencing around those ponds this time of year, like they put up to protect the golf course's greens from elk and other animals during golf season. I think that sounds like a fine idea.