US Forest service may blow up ranger cabin to get rid of frozen cows
3:32 pm - 04/19/2012
A group of stray cows that froze to death in the Colorado mountains must be blown up or set on fire to avoid water contamination, forestry officials say.
The carcasses were discovered near the Conundrum Hot Springs in Aspen by two Air Force Academy cadets in late March.
The cows were found in a ranger cabin where it is thought they wandered during a snowstorm after they were separated from the herd last year.
The plan is to remove the dead animals before they begin to thaw.
US Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin told the BBC: "Obviously, time is of the essence because we don't want them defrosting."
He told the BBC that "negative interactions" with other wildlife were also a concern.
Winter temperatures in the area regularly drop to below 0F (-18C).
The hot springs are inside a federal wilderness area high in the Rocky Mountains, which prevents mechanical options, like chainsaws, from being used.
The options include letting the cows decompose and closing off the area, setting off explosives to break up the animals and speed up the decomposition process, or setting the cabin on fire.
Officials say there are about six cows inside the cabin and several just outside.
Michael Carroll, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society in Colorado, told the Associated Press: "They need to use the minimal tool to get the job done.
"They don't want to leave the land scarred."
According to Mr Segin, the cows' owner has been found through the tags on the animals. Cows and other animals are allowed to graze on federal wilderness land if the owner has a permit.
source:BBC News
Hilarious to us, but a real pain in the ass for the park service. How DO you get several 1000 pound animals that are frozen stiff out of there?
The carcasses were discovered near the Conundrum Hot Springs in Aspen by two Air Force Academy cadets in late March.
The cows were found in a ranger cabin where it is thought they wandered during a snowstorm after they were separated from the herd last year.
The plan is to remove the dead animals before they begin to thaw.
US Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin told the BBC: "Obviously, time is of the essence because we don't want them defrosting."
He told the BBC that "negative interactions" with other wildlife were also a concern.
Winter temperatures in the area regularly drop to below 0F (-18C).
The hot springs are inside a federal wilderness area high in the Rocky Mountains, which prevents mechanical options, like chainsaws, from being used.
The options include letting the cows decompose and closing off the area, setting off explosives to break up the animals and speed up the decomposition process, or setting the cabin on fire.
Officials say there are about six cows inside the cabin and several just outside.
Michael Carroll, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society in Colorado, told the Associated Press: "They need to use the minimal tool to get the job done.
"They don't want to leave the land scarred."
According to Mr Segin, the cows' owner has been found through the tags on the animals. Cows and other animals are allowed to graze on federal wilderness land if the owner has a permit.
source:BBC News
Hilarious to us, but a real pain in the ass for the park service. How DO you get several 1000 pound animals that are frozen stiff out of there?
Also, how soon before this ends up on Mythbusters? 'Cos frozen cows + explosives sounds right up their alley.
http://www.cheapass.com/freegames/u
Barbecue? Feed the bears?
Is anybody having flashbacks to Oregon's Exploding Whale Incident?
Wow... this is a pretty tough situation to resolve. :/ IDK anything about explosives, tbh, but what is the likelihood of the explosion just spattering cow remains everywhere in this situation too? It's not a whale, sure, but that's a fuckload of cow. I assume we have gotten better at blowing up animals since 1970...? IDEK what to think, lol. I am just like o.0
I imagine the cows felt a bit put-out as well.
solution: either leave them there and make the area into a survivalist vacation spot or else, um,
air-lifting the carcasses to hungry people? just a thought.
Just because they froze to death doesn't mean the ENTIRE CARCASS is frozen and cold enough for preservation. There's a reason why animals are taken apart soon after being slaughtered.
I wrote this long comment and then was like, oh god, I can't post this. I don't want to get into an internet argument over not eating cattle that froze to death (and most likely froze and refroze throughout day-night cycles) and got pissed on by woodland creatures.
The mental image of several terrified animals slowly freezing to death is anything but hilarious. This is why I can't even talk to people who believe free range beef is humane.
Of course, I can't imagine why blowing them up and leaving the bits and pieces would be any different than hacking them up and leaving the bits and pieces.
but i guess the park services can't really just call up the air force and be like "So theres these cows right? On a mountain, frozen to death. Some of them are in a cabin, and some of them are not. Maybe you guys could just, like, handle that for us?"
Well, that's certainly a head scratcher for the rangers, I guess.
I went over the Rockies this last winter and I was amazed at all the livestock out in the frigid countryside. How can they avoid freezing to death, i wondered. I guess they don't. :/ Poor cows.