Troopers will try
moving moose

By Ann Petersen

Haines wildlife trooper Ricky Merritt said he would try to shoo away from downtown a cow moose with a calf that has charged several residents near Third Avenue and Old Haines Highway in recent weeks.

Police used cracker shells to disperse four moose near the public safety building Monday, but a mature moose and a calf were spotted browsing there again early Tuesday.

Steve and Sarah Virg-In said they were walking near the bald eagle foundation last week when they spotted a moose across Old Haines Highway behaving oddly.

 “It lowered its head, and started pawing the ground. Steve said for me to get out of there while he held his ground until the moose backed away,” said Sarah Virg-In. “I was scared. I was looking around for somewhere to go.”

Phillip Jackson said he was chased by two moose that came within 50 feet of him. Jackson said that he has been around moose all his life, and had never known them to be so aggressive. “They don’t usually go after people. Maybe someone has been throwing rocks at them.”

Jackson said the moose also have been a worry for parents of small children in the Deishu Drive neighborhood.

According to Merritt, the cow may be ready to give birth again. “We need to move her before she gives birth or else she’ll be even harder to get out.”

Pregnancy may also explain the cow’s aggressiveness, he said. Once he and police locate the cow and calf, they’ll walk toward them, herding them across the highway and toward the Chilkat River, Merritt said.

If cracker rounds don’t work, Merritt said he would shoot “bean-bag” rounds at the animals’ rear ends.

Merritt said state biologists approved his plan. Another option, tranquilizing and relocating the animals, could harm them, he said.

Merritt said residents should keep their distance from the animals and report aggressive behavior to him at 766-2533.