The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) moved a 500-pound female moose from Colorado Springs to the Grand Mesa on Wednesday, July 20. Officials at Fort Carson spotted a moose wandering around the motor pool area about 9 a.m.
“The location was less than ideal for a moose,” said Steve Cooley, a district wildlife manager with the DOW. “The animal was inside a fenced area slated to receive equipment from troops returning from Iraq, so we made a decision to tranquilize the moose and take it somewhere it could roam with other moose.”
“When it came time to load the tranquilized moose into a trailer for transport to the West Slope, we had plenty of help from about a dozen soldiers who picked it up and put it inside,” he said.
The army post also supplied 600 pounds of ice to put in the trailer to keep the animal cool during a day when record high temperatures were expected.
“We are really glad to have another moose for our herd on the Mesa,” said biologist Stephanie Duckett.
In January of this year, the DOW began moving moose onto the Grand Mesa National Forest in western Colorado to re-establish a herd there.
It is not clear exactly how the moose got onto the army post near Colorado Springs. Moose are solitary animals but have been known to roam hundreds of miles. In recent years Colorado’s moose have demonstrated an uncanny ability to wander into areas where one might least expect them. Since the mid-90’s, wildlife officials have documented moose sightings near Cripple Creek, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, Golden, Salida, Westcliffe, Gunnison, Hayden and Summit County among other places.
In addition to the moose on Grand Mesa, Colorado is home to two other established moose populations. One is on the west end of the San Luis Valley near Creede. The other is in north central Colorado near Walden.
In 1978, the DOW brought 12 moose from Utah to Walden. The next year another dozen more were released in the Illinois River drainage. Those moose expanded their range into the Laramie River Valley and in 1987, an additional 12 animals were brought in from Wyoming.
By 1991 the North Park population was doing so well that some of those moose were moved to the upper Rio Grande drainage near Creede. Continued supplementation with moose from Wyoming and Utah brought the Creede herd to about 100 animals by 1993.
In 2005, some of the moose from Creede were moved to Grand Mesa to begin a herd there. Additional moose were once again supplied by Utah to add genetic diversity to the herd.
The largest member of the deer family, moose have adapted to a variety of habitats. They do especially well where there are abundant willows along streams and ponds, but can also find adequate forage in areas of lodgepole pine, oakbrush, mountain mahogany, aspen or even sagebrush.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
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