Moose caught in Vail parking garage set to be relocated to Craig
A moose that regularly visited a popular parking garage in Vail will be relocated to Craig, Colorado Public Wildlife officials said Monday.
The moose, estimated to be 2 to 3 years old and weigh 750 pounds, also frequented neighborhoods, according to a statement from CPW. Calls about the moose started about a month ago, but within the last 10 days, this particular bull started spending time on the ground level of the parking garages. Specifically, the bull appeared in Lionshead Village as well as the Vail Health hospital garages.
“Everything went smoothly this morning, no issues,” Wildlife Officer Devin Duval said in a release of the operation to tranquilize the bull, which started around 8:25 a.m. “We were definitely within that human health and safety realm where there could potentially be an injury to a human or the animal. That is the reason we decided to move it.”
When the moose began licking the walls, CPW said, the office worked with Vail officials to remove salts that may have still been on the walls, but the bull continued to return to the garage.
“This moose was not electing to spend time elsewhere, but now people can be at ease walking to work through that garage, and the moose will be moved to a more appropriate habitat,” Duval said.
The moose, typically calm, would get agitated by dogs in Vail, but the tipping point for the relocation came when it started spending the majority of the day in the area. The statement said that wildlife officials are looking for additional opportunities to expand the range of moose in other locations near Craig.
“Coincidentally, it is kind of a serendipitous scenario in that our wildlife officials there were looking for some help with some translocation, so those folks are going to take this moose and find some more appropriate habitat for him,” Duval said.
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