Men rescue cow elk from pond near Coram

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Give credit to two Coram families for saving the life of a cow elk last Friday.

From the deck of their Seville Lane home on the shore of a pond just south of Coram, Harry and Maureen Pitman saw something unusual about 6:30 a.m. — an elk in the opening of the body of water, which was still about half covered by ice.

The Pitmans, both in their 70s, called 911 to try to get help for the cow elk. Maureen said that Harry spoke to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel, and she said Harry was told they could not risk human life to try to save the elk.

So the Pitmans launched their boat, and Maureen said they tried to "chop their way" over to the elk that was struggling to get back on the ice. Worn out, they knew they needed more help for a possible rescue.

Coram-West Glacier fireman Shawn Crick, despite being ill, arrived on the scene. But he was unable to contact any other firemen by phone. So the Pitmans called the Radabah family, which lives about a half mile down Seville Lane from the Pitman place.

Carl Radabah and his sons, Bill and Josh, arrived quickly with their boat. The elk was about 120 feet away, so they had their work cut out for them.

"We started chopping (ice) to where she was," Bill said.

They found the ice to be 9 inches thick there, so they were able to get the boat up on the ice and get closer to the elk.

Crick had given the Radabahs lifejackets, a rope, an ax and shovels to aid in the rescue attempt.

"She tried to play dead," Bill said of the elk.

But Carl, Bill and Josh were able to get a rope around her and slide her onto the ice.

While the Radabahs continued the rescue effort, the Pitmans watched from their deck — with Harry taking photos of the event.

"She stood up three or four times and collapsed," Bill said. "We put a rope around her and drug her to shore."

Not knowing how close the elk was to death, the Radabahs did their best to warm up the animal. They took off their coats and wrapped them around the elk, estimated to be 6 to 8 years old. She had cuts on her neck and front legs from trying to get on the ice.

"She was shuttering and shaking really bad," Bill said.

The Radabahs could feel warmth coming through the jackets and they had hope. After about 45 minutes, the elk was able to get to her feet — with the help of Carl, Bill and Josh.

Moments later, the elk was able to stand on her own — and walked off into the woods.

"It was pretty commendable," Maureen said of the effort of the Radabahs.

An elk that was in the icy water of a pond for as long as three hours survived — thanks to two Coram families who really care.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Only the first part of the story about the elk rescue appeared in the May 1 issue of the Hungry Horse News. The story will appear in its entirety in the May 8 issue.