BLACKFOOT — A wild moose just didn’t seem to want to leave Blackfoot earlier this week.
It took two tranquilizer darts — one on Monday evening and another on Tuesday morning — before conservation officers could successfully move the moose out of the city and back into the wild.
It all began at approximately 9 a.m. Monday, when the Idaho Department of Fish and Game received a call about an adult cow moose roaming around a residential area in Blackfoot.
Blackfoot police officers had chased the animal from an area near the state hospital. But by the time Fish and Game personnel arrived, the moose had disappeared.
Then, later that evening at approximately 7 p.m., the moose re-emerged in Blackfoot. This time, officials with Fish and Game, the Blackfoot Police Department and the Bingham County Sheriff's Office kept the animal contained in an area near Rich Lane.
However, before Fish and Game officers could hit the moose with a tranquilizer dart, it got spooked and ran off.
Eventually, conservation officers caught up with the moose and hit it with a dart. The animal responded by bedding down, but every time it was approached by officers, it stood up.
A statement from Fish and Game said that because the moose was agitated from being hazed throughout the day, its adrenaline response was probably strong enough to override the effect of the drug in the dart.
The animal eventually moved to a pasture area where it bedded down again. Fish and Game officers decided that because the sun had just set, it was deemed unsafe to both the general public and the officers to try to move the moose in the darkness of the night.
The moose remained under watch until 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, when it was darted a second time after it arose and started moving around.
This second dart successfully tranquilized the animal, allowing Fish and Game officers to successfully transport the moose to an undisclosed remote area of Southeast Idaho.
