‘Don’t be alarmed’: Hundreds of animals to be seen dangling from helicopters in Utah

Utah wildlife officials unintentionally got people laughing on social media this week, by warning that skies in the state will soon be alive with flying ungulates — a fancy word for hoofed animals.

It will start Saturday as part of a state wildlife survey and “around 1,000 big game animals” may be involved, some weighing more than 200 pounds, the state said.

“Don’t be alarmed if/when you see ungulates (mostly deer, pronghorn and bighorn sheep) dangling from helicopters!” the Utah division of Wildlife wrote on Facebook. “Putting the animals under stress — for a very short period of time — doesn’t affect them much.”

Hundreds of people have since reacted to the Nov. 24 post on Facebook and Twitter, offering jokes about victimized animals being “dangulated” and asking facetious questions about whether it’s illegal to shoot deer hanging from a helicopter.

“Cause ya know ‘flyin sheeps’ in 2020 will be the most normal f---ing thing we’ve seen,” Taryna Helsten-Johnston wrote on Facebook.

“Ungulates as giant, dangling ornaments. Tis the season!” Tess Gingery tweeted.

“Dangling Ungulates is either an excellent band name or the name of a type of flesh wound,” Zach Alan posted.

Surprisingly, there were no jokes about sleds, Santa or flying reindeer.

Utah officials says the airborne animals are part of a seasonal project in which helicopter crews capture big game with a net gun and fly them to waiting veterinarians. The animals get a health exam and some will be fitted with GPS collars to track their migration, the state says. (Some does get vaginal implants that “hit the ground first” when they give birth, to mark the location, the state says.)

In addition to deer and sheep, the crews captures elk and bison, state officials said in a February report. Many of the animals have been captured for “several winters in a row” and appear capable of handling “the brief stress.”

“No need to worry. We’ve been capturing big game animals this way for years and have had great success obtaining critical data that helps us better manage species and the habitat they use,” the state posted on Facebook.

This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 2:18 PM with the headline "‘Don’t be alarmed’: Hundreds of animals to be seen dangling from helicopters in Utah."