It was quite the journey for one Bull Moose that found his way onto the airfield side on the YXS grounds.
The moose ended up in one of the photos taken by Dr.Roy Rea, UNBC Instructor’s camera trap on the airfield side of the security fence at the airport.
Rea says he was immediately concerned about the moose walking in front of an aircraft, given the steady declining moose population in the area.
“We knew right away this was something that should not be airside,” said Dr.Rea, “what happened was he discovered an area of the airport that hadn’t been grazed by other twig-eating animals for years and years.”
Rea immediately contacted the PGAA and they began to develop a rescue plan for the animal, understanding the important ecological impact an adult male moose has on the population.
“Moose populations in this area are down 70 percent and we’d rather like to see that animal survive and breed instead of being turned into hamburger,” Rea explained.
The PGAA tried to get the moose out of the forested section of the Airport a few different ways, initially setting up a one-way gate to give the moose an escape route.
“He didn’t take very kindly to that, he’s a big bull moose and I think he was used to kind of pushing around other critters in the forest,” he noted.
Then, Yellowhead Helicopters got involved and tried to encourage the moose to leave by flying multiple times over the area where he was found.
Meanwhile, the Conservation Officer Service team got involved and developed a plan to tranquillize the moose, however, if he was to become a safety threat they would’ve had to euthanize the animal.
Once Rea and his team found the exact location of the moose, they brought firetrucks out and hopped on quads to sway the moose to leave through an opening in the fence in the Southwest corner of the grounds.
The moose then was safely removed from the grounds, the Airport staff and Rea are now testing additional cellular cameras to add to the camera array.