Young Moose Takes A Stroll Down Boulder's Pearl Street Mall
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - It was an unusual sight in Boulder Sunday night as a young female moose decided to take a stroll down the Pearl Street Mall.
According to Kim Kobel with Boulder police, the moose was first spotted by police just before 11 p.m. near 14th and Spruce streets.
"An officer was slowly following the moose in his patrol vehicle when he saw the moose turn onto the Pearl Street Mall between 13th and 14th streets," Kobel said in a statement. "The unusual sight drew a group of people, who attempted to approach the moose."
The group complied after police asked the people to stay away from the moose.
"Police contacted an officer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who advised us to haze the moose with several bean bag rounds in an attempt to get the animal to move out of the downtown area and back to the foothills," Kobel said.
After the moose wandered over to the Hotel Boulderado located near 13th and Spruce streets officers fired "multiple beanbag rounds at the animal's hindquarters," but the moose just slowly kept wandering and ended up in a homeowner's yard and laid down.
"In a second attempt to haze the young moose, an officer aimed two more bean bag rounds at the animal's rear end causing the moose to cross over Broadway and into the area of 11th and Maxwell streets," Kobel said. "At that point, officer's believed the moose was far enough away from people and the downtown area and allowed the moose to be on her way."
Kobel said the moose hasn't been spotted in town on Monday and they hope it went back into the foothills.
The last time a moose was spotted in the area was 12 years ago in the very same place where the officer originally saw the moose on Sunday.
"This is something that is starting to occur more frequently," Jennifer Churchill with Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.
Churchill said wildlife officers had to tranquilize a moose in an Arvada neighborhood two weeks ago. She said in the past couple of years they've been seeing more moose coming into populated areas.
"Moose appear very tame and that's something people need to be wary of, because even though they're vegetarians, they have no predators in Colorado, so they have nothing to be afraid of, which is why they will walk into areas with people sometimes," she said.
Additional Information From The Boulder Police Department
Police remind residents to be wary and not to approach wildlife, as they can be dangerous and unpredictable when frightened.
