COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers tranquilized a cow moose that was spotted walking around a Colorado Springs westside neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.
Wildlife officers said the moose will be released in the mountains, far away from the city.
Moose are a special, but relatively common sight in the high country. However, seeing them in lower elevations is much rarer.
People who see a moose should be aware that the animals can be very dangerous if provoked. People who see a moose should keep a healthy distance between them and the animal and should keep dogs away. Wolves are natural predators to moose, and dogs can easily provoke the wild animals.
Aaron Berscheid with Colorado Parks & Wildlife said, “We had a lot of people that were following it, trying to get pictures and stuff of it because moose are cool, but at the same time it was stressing it out.”
News 5 spotted the moose eating some grass near the intersection of 8th Street and Arcturus Drive a little before 4 p.m. and it roamed behind News 5’s Bill Folsom during his live report.
Berscheid said it’s not the first time this moose has been handled by Colorado Parks & Wildlife. It already had one ear tag when officials found it.
“The ear tags are not like they are for bears. For moose and deer and elk, they’re different than they are for bears. There’s no strike policy.”
A cow moose was also spotted on a home surveillance camera in the Skyway neighborhood Tuesday morning.
It’s not known if they are the same moose, but as mentioned earlier, it is rare to see a moose in the lower elevations.
