Dead cow clogs Utah slot canyon, rancher’s impromptu barbecue makes things worse

Earlier this month a cow wandered into a southern Utah slot canyon. But it won’t be coming out in one piece. Some of it may not come out at all after a rancher’s effort to rescue the animal ended in its death, dismemberment and partial incineration. Now the popular hiking canyon in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is permeated by the acrid odor of rotting meat and officials are trying to figure out how to clean up the mess. The trouble started Dec. 9 when a monument visitor notified officials of an adult cow trapped in the canyon, which hikers access from the Hole in the Rock road east of Escalante. Most of the monument is grazed, but dogs and cows are not allowed in Peek-a-Boo or neighboring gulches which drain toward the Escalante River. Fences cross the monument’s range to keep cows out of slot canyons, but they often are damaged during fall storms. Monument officials believe the cow entered through a fresh breach...more 

Every cow should know you can't play peek-a-boo in a National Monument; it's forbidden.