This post was updated at 4:19 p.m. on June 10.
Idaho Fish and Game officials have tranquilized a moose that wandered into the city Tuesday. The moose apparently started its day at east Boise's Warm Springs Golf Course, but ended up closer to downtown on the Greenbelt behind Parkcenter Boulevard.
KTVB.com originally reported the moose is a male, but it turns out to be a female.
Here is the moose she is down and doing okay... A little shaky but fish and game and Boise pd are here pic.twitter.com/aWP17Vi1c7
— Andrea Lutz (@AndrearLutz) June 10, 2014
"Tranquilizer teams took the animal down on the banks of the Boise River near the Warm Springs Golf Course. It is currently slumbering in a bush, awaiting transport to a less populated home. It was a procedure that required a certain amount of delicacy and patience: Officers were prepared to launch a water rescue in case the moose panicked and darted into the river after being hit with a tranquilizer. If the tranquilizer kicked in while the animal is swimming, Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said, it could drown." - KTVB.com
Original post
Wildlife officials and local law enforcement have spent much of Tuesday tracking down an "agitated" moose that wandered into Boise.
@idfg tracking a moose in the city. A Boise Fire Dive Team member took this photo off Parkcenter. Don't approach! pic.twitter.com/fU10KCDWNZ
— Boise PD (@BoisePD) June 10, 2014
The Idaho Statesman reports the moose was first spotted Tuesday morning on the Warm Springs golf course.
"[It] has worked its way to the Greenbelt behind the Albertsons corporate headquarters at 250 E. Parkcenter Blvd. and has become agitated, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Fish and Game and Boise first-responders are asking the public to stay away from the area while they attempt to tranquilize the moose and move it out of the area." - Idaho Statesman
KTVB reports the moose is a male calf.
"The animal is currently swimming in the river near the 400 block of Parkcenter Boulevard officers are trying to get close enough to tranquilize it. "The animal is highly agitated, and they're trying to keep people away," spokesman Mike Keckler said. "People need to be extremely careful because moose can be very dangerous if they feel threatened." - KTVB.com
The Associated Press reports the moose has been living in east Boise, but has started moving closer to downtown.
Keckler says it's a dangerous situation because moose are large animals and that area of the city has a popular path on both sides of the river that draws walkers, runners and bikers. He says officials had to remove a moose from the east side of Boise last year. Keckler says it's not clear if it's the same moose. - Associated Press