ESTES PARK, Colo. -- A $5,000 reward was offered Tuesday for the poacher who shot the star attraction of a recent "Elk Fest" in Estes Park.

The bull elk was shot with an arrow in the spine near its hind quarters in downtown Estes Park. The badly injured bull made its way to the Stanley Hotel.

Estes Park police officers put the animal down after it was determined that the bull was unable to walk or eat.

"This was probably the biggest bull in the Estes Valley," said Rick Spowart, district wildlife manager for Estes Park. "For about a month, I saw him every day on the golf course with a big harem, bugling and doing the whole rut thing. Whoever did this stole a great watchable wildlife opportunity from all of us."

The bull was seen by Estes Park residents and hundreds of visitors, Spowart said.

Spowart said the bull, which sported seven points on each antler, reminded many in Estes Park of Samson, the giant, unofficial village mascot that was memorialized in bronze sculpture downtown after he was poached. That crime led to the passage of a law that allows the Division of Wildlife to fine poachers $10,000 for the killing of trophy elk.

To provide information in this case, call toll-free within Colorado at 1-877-265-6648.

"The elk in Estes Park are enjoyed by all of its citizens and many visitors," said Rick Spowart. "It is inexcusable that someone would shoot an arrow into an elk here in town and then just leave it to suffer."

The meat from the dead elk was donated.