2 moose removed from Calgary suburb after dog kicked in backyard

According to Alberta Fish and Wildlife, two young moose have been removed from the northwest Calgary community of Arbor Lake, after one of the moose “A resident’s dog was kicked on Monday night.

“The resident had released his dogs into the backyard, where two moose calves – a male and a female, each approximately 1.5 years old – were unknowingly present,” a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said in a statement. “A dog was kicked by the calf and suffered minor injuries.”

The moose was removed Tuesday with the help of the Calgary Fire Department.

They were “successfully released” near the Harold Creek Wildlife Corridor northwest of Cochrane.

In January, a similar incident involving a mother-calf pair was reported. Those two moose were removed from the northwest Calgary community of Scenic Acres and also relocated to the Harold Creek Wildlife Corridor.

Fish and Wildlife said the transfer occurred when Moss Bluff charged at a dogwalker who had walked between her and the calf.

Moose are relatively common in parts of Calgary.

Sarah Jordan-McLachlan, a wildlife biologist who studies Human-Wildlife Conflict in Calgary says moose are often seen in natural areas such as Fish Creek Provincial Park and Weaselhead Flats, as well as some northwest and southwest suburbs.

“If you’re in these wooded areas or near wetlands, you’re more likely to see them than in the middle of the city,” he said.

near calgary resident moose which live and breed within the city limits, as well as moose which move in and out of the city through wildlife corridors tsuutina nation and other places around the city, Jordan-McLachlan Said.

According to iNaturalist, a citizen science website where people can track sightings and observations of wildlife around the world, there have been more than 300 sightings of moose in Calgary and the immediate area since 2020.

Remote cameras from the Mistakis Institute’s Calgary Connect wildlife monitoring program detected 242 moose in the city from 2017 to 2022, representing a small portion of the total detections of 31,040 of the deer species.

“You might not see them, but they might move out of the way and then come back right after you leave instead of leaving the area entirely,” Jordan-McLachlan said.

According to the latest report of the programme, Moose “have the most overlap with human activity” of any wildlife species in Calgary, which according to Jordan-McLachlan means that moose, like other animals, do not go out of their way to avoid areas frequented by people.

Jordan-McLachlan recommends avoiding interactions with moose of any age or sex. This means not going near moose and keeping dogs on leash.

In the event of an encounter, she would recommend “leaving the area, giving that animal as much space as possible, regardless of the time of year.”

Wildlife Monitoring Program of the Mistakis Institute Found that moose activity in the city peaks between 6-9 pm and is lowest between midnight and 4 am