BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — You might have heard that there is no such thing as basement moose. But tell that to a Breckenridge homeowner (and apparent ping pong buff), who now believes.
That “basement moose” got there by doing what moose like to do, graze.
He had been foraging for some tasty grass near a home off Ski Hill Road in Breckenridge when the poor guy fell through a snow-covered window well and into the home’s basement, becoming trapped downstairs where the ping pong table is stored.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were called to the home Monday afternoon. They opened doors to create exits for the animal, but he wasn’t budging because he had to go up a basement staircase to reach the exits, and moose don’t do stairs, apparently.
Wildlife officers ended up tranquilizing the moose, cutting off his antlers and carrying him up the stairs and safely releasing him back into quality moose habitat (Colorado mountains).
CPW said the antlers were removed in order to fit the big galoot through the staircase, reducing further damage to the home.
But don’t worry, moose typically lose their antlers this time of year, CPW said, and he’ll get some brand spanking new ones come spring.
“It was a great team effort, and other than a small cut on its leg, the moose appeared to be healthy,” said CPW District Wildlife Manager Jake Kay in the release.
Nobody was home at the time of incident. The extent of damage to the home is not known. CPW recommends owners of homes with window wells remove vegetation around the wells to prevent something like this from happening again.