July 28 (UPI) — Wildlife officials in Colorado said a large bull moose was tranquilized and relocated after wandering into the ground floor of a parking garage.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said officers responded to the parking garage in the Lionshead Village area of Vail on Tuesday morning when the 2-to-3-year-old moose was spotted inside the garage.
Wildlife officials said the moose had been spotted frequently inside area parking garages during the preceding 10 days, likely drawn in by residual salt from de-icing agents used on the upper floors.
“He was pretty regularly coming into the parking structure first thing in the morning and then would kind of clear out before it got too busy,” wildlife officer Devin Duval said in the agency release. “This is the primary parking place for the folks accessing Lionshead Village as well as the Vail Health hospital.”
Duval said the decision to relocate the moose came after officials determined it was becoming accustomed to the area and seemed unlikely to leave on its own.
“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,” Duval said.
He said the moose had been spending more and more time in areas frequented by vehicles and pedestrians.
“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 more appropriate habitat,” Duval said.
He said everything went “smoothly” with the tranquilizing of the moose and there were “no issues.”
The moose was released in a remote area outside of Craig.