Moose spotted in downtown Moncton
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Last Updated: Monday, June 18, 2007 | 7:15 PM AT
CBC News

Department of Natural Resources officials in Moncton are on the alert for a
moose that was seen on one of the city's main commercial thoroughfares
early Monday morning.

An RCMP patrol car spotted the animal loping along Mountain Road, near the
VooDoo nightclub, around 4 a.m. AT, before it disappeared in the heavily
wooded Centennial Park area. Officials said they won't go looking for the
moose, but they will be on the scene quickly if it emerges in one of the
nearby residential neighbourhoods.

If people see the moose, they should keep their distance, said Brent Roy of
the DNR. "Well, these are large wild animals, so we always caution the
public to keep that in mind, and keep a safe distance away," Roy said
Monday. "Moose have been known to charge people. They could hurt you,
so you'd have to keep that in mind for sure."

Roy said if wardens find the moose, they will try to shepherd it back into
the woods in the hope it will find its way out of the city. The animal
would only be killed if it posed an obvious hazard to people or traffic in
the area, he said.

This is just the latest in a series of wildlife sightings in urban areas,
he said. "These are generally the younger ones, these are the
yearlings, and this is the first time they've been away from their
parents," he said. "They're basically trying to find their way in
the world, and they're on their own for the first time. Occasionally they
find themselves in unfamiliar territory and they become disoriented, so
it's not terribly uncommon."

DNR officials gave the same explanation when an intruder deer yearling
galloped into the New Brunswick legislature's departmental building early
on the morning of May 31 and then made a glass-shattering exit through a
window.

--- M00sED/W32 3.0.1