Larry the elk took his last labored breaths Wednesday at the entrance to a Boulder business described by its managing director as an “on-site incentive travel program.”
For the second time nearly six years, it was a grim end to an exotic adventure that saw a bull elk tour one of Boulder’s more exclusive neighborhoods for weeks, making friends and delighting many who enjoyed taking his picture and even seeing their dogs become pals with the animal.
Previously, on Jan. 1, 2013, another trophy bull elk, known as Big Boy, was illegally shot and killed by a now-former Boulder police officer.
Dubbed “Larry” by its fans in the Mapleton Hill neighborhood, this elk was put down just around noon Wednesday at the entrance of the travel business, Cultivate, which had notified city wildlife officers after the animal first appeared at its back entrance at 2300 Broadway around 8 a.m. It then spent a couple of hours at its entrance as busy weekday traffic flashed by.
Colorado Parks & Wildlife officers were called to the scene. Initially, according to CPW spokesman Jason Clay, the elk was tranquilized by a dart carrying potassium chloride. After an assessment by CPW veterinarian Dr. Lisa Wolfe, it was determined that it had suffered a jaw injury that had become abscessed and infected with visible swelling, and the decision was made to euthanize the animal.
“It’s a shame to have to put it down,” Wolfe said. “But it’s hard to see him suffer, at the same time.”
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