Posted by Bob Lefebvre
We spotted this Moose running across highway 22X just east of Calgary on July 28, 2013. We stopped and got a few photos and a video as it ran right across the highway. Fortunately, no cars crossed its path. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moose east of the city before. It probably came up from the Bow River valley just south of the highway, but I’m not sure where it was headed in such a hurry.
The moose is tagged in its right ear. It is probably part of a study of moose populations, but I haven’t been able to find out anything about this. If anyone knows what the tags mean, let us know in the comments.
Below is a video of the moose.
I photographed two Moose in this area this past March (A mother and a young male). They were sitting in a field just north of 22x, just east of the city. I too was surprised to see Moose in this area. I just checked my pictures and it doesn’t appear that the Moose I photographed are tagged so perhaps they regularly cross through this area…
Great footage of the moose!
Here is info re the tag in the ear – “Some species of wildlife are banded, collared or marked by other means in an ongoing effort to gain additional population biology information. You can assist and cooperate in these programs by reporting encounters with any marked animal to the nearest Fish and Wildlife office.”(http://www.albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs/inquiries.html)
Have seen more and more of them in the prairies in the last 10-15 years… We have run into them in places like Hanna, Sibbald (Believe it or not! – Middle of absolute bald-butt prairie), Patricia and east of Standard. Not surprised at all to see one near the city. Nice shots tho’!!