Elk’s predicament earns him fame and nickname in Washington town. Meet ‘Hammock Head’
A bull elk has gained local celebrity status in a logging town at the base of Mount Rainier in Washington, reports say.
Why? The elk wanders the town with an unusual “crown” atop his head — pieces of a hammock, including rope, wooden bar and metal chain, tangled into his antlers, The Chronicle reported.
Packwood residents lovingly call him Ol’ Hammock Head, the outlet said.
He’s become so iconic, he inspired a motivational poster about “persisting despite having a hammock wrapped around your antlers,” King5 reported. Local artists have crafted shirts and stickers to benefit the county museum, the station reported.
“Right now he’s our star attraction,” Gene Sieber told King5. Sieber works for the Packwood Visitors Center.
Some have plans to find the antlers once the elk sheds them and mount the rack in a local museum, hammock remnants and all. One resident hung “wanted” posters in business windows around town and offered a reward to whoever finds it, King5 reported.
But that probably won’t be possible, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The agency first learned about the predicament in October, the district’s wildlife biologist Eric Holman told McClatchy News in an email.
“We determined that the animal was A) still mobile, B) still able to eat and C) not strongly likely to become further entangled with additional objects or another elk,” Holman said in the email. “For these reasons we elected to allow time to pass in the hope that when his antlers shed during the spring of 2023, the situation would resolve itself.”
But that isn’t exactly what happened. Ol’ Hammock Head naturally shed his antlers a few days ago, but the hammock didn’t come off with them, Holman said in the email.
Though Ol Hammock Head “is still able to move and eat, unimpaired by the tangled material,” he’s concerned the elk won’t be able to free itself from the hammock, which could cause problems later.
“It is possible that this could impair antler growth or lead to entanglement with another male elk during the September breeding season,” Holman said.
So officials plan to keep monitoring the elk to see if the hammock comes loose on its own, he said. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll look for an opportunity to intervene so they can capture the elk, free him from the shredded hammock and release him.
They also ask the public to notify their team at TeamRidgefield@dfw.wa.gov if anyone learns that Ol Hammock Head freed himself from his entanglement.
But they shouldn’t try to free him themselves.
“Members of the public should keep in mind that any effort to capture wild animals can be dangerous to the subject animal, the people directly involved, and other unassociated individuals,” Holman said. “Wildlife treated with immobilizing chemicals can regularly take as long as 10 minutes to become sedated, adding logistical and safety considerations to any capture attempt.”
While the agency appreciates the town’s concern for Ol’ Hammock Head’s well-being, the public should let wildlife experts handle it. But they can still admire their beloved town icon from a safe distance.
This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Elk’s predicament earns him fame and nickname in Washington town. Meet ‘Hammock Head’."
