CALGARY — A wayward moose was on the loose Thursday in downtown Calgary, to the awe and confusion of drivers and pedestrians.
The lanky male calf spent more than two hours trotting and strolling by many Calgary landmarks, including Chinatown and the Calgary Tower.
Alicia Djan-Braper, who works at the Calgary Tower, said she did a double take when she noticed the animal jaunting down the street.
“He came right down Centre Street and hung a right,” she said. “It was very strange, we thought it was a cow at first.”
Jared Peterson, who works for EnCana, was on his lunch break.
“I’ve seen lots of strange things downtown, but never a moose.”
Calgary police Inspt. Luch Berti said it’s believed the animal made its way up from the Bow River to an area near the Calgary Zoo before trotting downtown.
Darcy Whiteside, a spokesman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, said the moose was about a year old and may have recently parted from its mother.
“This is the age when mom releases it and they separate and it’s expected to fend for itself,” he said, adding young moose often “wander into unfamiliar areas and get spooked.”
Police contained the moose in a parking lot, then Fish and Wildlife officers shot it with a tranquillizer gun.
They took it outside Calgary and released it into the wild.
Wildlife officers monitored it until it woke up.