Pair of Elk escorted out of downtown Kingman

Two elk that wandered into Kingman on Tuesday were tranquilized and transported to the nearby Hualapai Mountains where they were released unharmed.

State Game and Fish Department spokesman Zen Mocarski said elk sometimes come down to the foothills but this was the first time in at least nine years that the animals ventured into town.

"There were, indeed, two elk lying down in an open field next to local businesses," Mocarski said. "It was a potentially dangerous situation with two heavily-used roads and railroad tracks around this vacant lot."

He said department personnel simultaneously fired tranquilizer darts about 9:30 a.m. to bring down the elk, males between 2 and 3 years of age.

"Drugs and wildlife are not an exact science," Mocarski said. "The second elk needed three darts before it went down. Fortunately both recovered nicely from the drugs."

Mocarski said the elk were released by 1 p.m. in the mountains about 20 miles southeast of the northern Arizona city.