SALT LAKE CITY — Drivers on westbound Interstate 80 were delayed by about 30 minutes Thursday because a herd of elk was attempting to cross into the foothills. 

Photo credit: Austin Aerts

KSL TV reporter Katija Stepovic first reported that the herd was moving between Foothill Drive and Parley’s Way, near the mouth of Parley’s Canyon.

Salt Lake City police, the Utah Highway Patrol and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) officers and biologists worked together to wrangle the elk herd.

DWR helped herd the animals up the Shoreline Trail and back toward the mountains, according to DWR spokesperson Faith Heaton Jolley.

Elk and deer, and even moose, can be seen in the city during winter. They are simply looking for food that, in the higher elevations, has been covered by snow, according to Heaton Jolley

She says that if you see such animals and if they are in danger near a roadway, please call the nearest Division of Wildlife Management office for assistance.

(Video credit Austin Aerts, top of Parley’s Way in Salt Lake City)