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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsTime has run out for the frozen cows of Conundrum Hot Springs!
[div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0.3077em 0.3077em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Time has run out for the frozen cows of Conundrum Hot Springs![div class="excerpt" style="border-left: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-right: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3077em 0.3077em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Time has run out for the frozen cows of Conundrum Hot Springs, the immensely popular, 11,200-foot-high stopover for hikers in western Colorados White River National Forest. According to the Aspen Daily News, the cattle jammed themselves into a Forest Service cabin this winter, apparently to get warm, though unfortunately they were unable to figure out how to build a fire. After a while, they died inside, piled up, and eventually, they all froze solid. The cows apparently belong to a Gunnison area rancher with grazing permits on the other side of the Elk Mountains, who reported 29 cows missing last fall. With spring thaw, the ice-cows began, and the hot springs were at risk of contamination.
At first, Forest Service officials said theyd blow up the cows with explosives, then they considered burning them, but both operations would require lengthy analysis and would have impacts of their own. Meanwhile, snow on the 8.5-mile trail ruled out using horses to haul the corpses away, and a helicopter was said to be too pricey. So the rancher sent up three workers with handsaws to help the local wilderness ranger divide them into appropriate-sized pieces to be dispersed around the area.
Nature will take it from there, the News reports, between decomposition and hungry wildlife. Since the latter includes bears, the agency is asking hikers to stay away for at least a month.
http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20120519/COLUMNISTS16/705199916/-1/News01
You'll have to go to the source for the story about the bear that saved the hiker from the mountain lion.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)This falls under the heading of, you can't make this stuff up.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)bluedigger
(17,077 posts)Kali
(54,990 posts)shit a carcass lasts about 3 days around here, this time of year (ok that is a bit of an exaggeration - say a week or so, although pelvis, skull, and long bones can hang for a year)
bluedigger
(17,077 posts)It takes bears a while to spread the good news about the bounty, eh, Boo Boo?
Kali
(54,990 posts)in a pile, that could have some contamination potential, and "feed the bears"-type consequences