Crews save a moose trapped in a snowy window well in Colorado

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First responders rescued a moose that got trapped in a window well in Keystone, Colorado. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

KEYSTONE, Colo. (AP) - Rescuers in Colorado hauled a bull moose to safety after it became trapped in a window well.

Summit Daily reported Sunday that rescuers first tranquilized the animal Saturday night before attempting a rescue from the five-foot-deep enclosure at a private home about 77 miles west of Denver.

Authorities say they erected a pulley system to lift the young male weighing between 800 and 1,000 pounds that may have been trying to avoid snowdrifts by walking close to the house.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife personnel, local fire and emergency services and Keystone ski resort employees assisted in the rescue.

A parks spokesman said the operation took nearly six hours and included 30 to 35 people.

The moose returned to the woods without any injuries.

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