Sunday June 28, 2009, 10:42 am
Thanks Cher!

A lost young moose running through southwest Calgary early Thursday morning was tranquillized by Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers and returned to the wild.

The two-year-old male had wandered into Haysboro around 6 a. m. It was described as scared and confused by one of the officers who helped capture it near the intersection of Elbow Drive and Southland Drive.

"It probably wandered in overnight from the west from the Glenmore Reservoir," said Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer Ed Pirogowicz. "It seemed to be keeping away and doing its thing. Once we got closer to it, it got a little more excited. But overall, it just seemed to not know where it was going, and heading here and there."

The lanky animal tried to evade officers, and briefly lost them when it found a backyard to lie down in.

"When things got busy, it got up again," he said. "Over by the Elbow area is a mall, and it wandered around the mall for a bit. And then it headed north into a schoolyard by Haysboro. We managed to locate it in a backyard and tranquillize it."

The moose laid down after the first shot, but it was spooked by the sound of sirens and jumped back up. It hopped over a fence and picnic table before officers shot it again.

The 180-kilogram animal was taken to a forest reserve southwest of Bragg Creek, where it was given a reversal drug. It got up in a few minutes and wandered back into the wilderness.

"This time of year, deer and moose, the younger ones, tend to do a lot more moving around, a lot more exploring of their territory," Pirogowicz said. "So this is the time of year when we get deer downtown and moose in the suburbs and those kinds of things."

The animal caused a fair bit of excitement in the neighbourhood, said Haysboro resident Frank Silliker, who added that wild animals, like deer and coyotes, occasionally wander through the area.

"It's never been a problem. We're the ones infringing on its territory," said Silliker.

Sunday June 28, 2009, 10:59 am
Poor moose!it must have been shocked wandering through the streets,in a very strange and may be very noisy environnement for him,but it all finished well :)thanks for the story:)

Sunday June 28, 2009, 12:51 pm
The Moose was loose:-) Glad they were able to send him back to his home.
Tx Cher

Sunday June 28, 2009, 2:03 pm
Glad he wasn't killed. I love happy endings. Thanks Cher.