DANGER Moose

Moose on the loose
BY KAI EISELEIN
LatahEagle Editor

A young wayward moose kept Moscow students in class a little longer Thursday, February 29 until Moscow police and a Fish and Game officer herded the animal away from Moscow Junior High.

The moose was first spotted on north Garfield Street shortly after 2 p.m. and police found the animal a short time later wandering along east E Street. Using a cruiser, an officer tried to herd the animal away from the parking lot between the junior high and the district offices, but the moose turned and trotted westward along the fence, toward the center of town. It tried to turn and go through the gate into the east parking lot of the school, but another police car sped to the gate and blocked its path. The moose eventually wandered into the backyard of a residence, where it kept a wary eye on a gathering crowd of neighbors snapping photos and officers blocking the street.

In a Mexican standoff with the moose and unsure about how safely get it out of town police called for an Idaho Fish and Game officer to come the scene, as luck would have it an officer was near the city and arrived within a few minutes.
After some discussion, the IDFG officer and police decided to try to herd the moose west, across Mountain View Road and out of town.

With a plan in place, the IDFG officer went behind the house and chased the moose out of the yard. At first it went north, across E Street, then decided to trot west along E instead with a police cruiser, the IDFG officer and a Moscow animal control officer in hot pursuit.

They eventually got the animal turned around and headed in the right direction; it rambled through a few backyards and ran across east F Street, nearly bowling over a newspaper photographer before heading towards Mountain View Road, which had been closed off. With a few twists and turns, officers eventually got the animal across the road and out of town near Mountain View Park about an hour after the moose was first spotted.

Worried about children being let out of school with the animal so close, MPD asked the district to keep the junior high students inside until the animal was safely away. Since the school busses all run on the same schedule, the district kept students throughout the district for an extra 15 minutes.

While moose may look relatively harmless, they, like other animals may attack when cornered. When they do, they use their hooves and size to stomp their target. A single blow from a kick can be fatal. Although rare, people have been killed as a result of a moose attack.