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Moose sightings on rise
1/28/2009 10:46:29 AM
By Hope Brumbach
Splash Editor
Multiple moose sightings in Liberty Lake are sending some residents into a tizzy.
That's the report from the Liberty Lake Police Department, which has fielded numerous phone calls from citizens concerned about the animals.
"Unless the moose is in Safeway, and it isn't chocolate, then call 911," said police assistant Bobbi Anderson, tongue in cheek. "It's just common sense."
Moose sightings, though, are on the rise throughout the region as the animals move to lower elevations for a more ready food supply, said Madonna Luers, a public information officer for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"They're going to be going over plowed roads. They're saving energy as much as they can in these conditions," Luers said last week. "Winter can be a dicey time to encounter moose."
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This season, Fish and Wildlife has moved three moose out of urban areas in the region, Luers said.
"Typically it's something we've done more in June," she said, adding that last winter and this season have been snowier, causing more moose to venture into the urban and suburban areas.
The moose population also has been slowly growing, as well as the number of residents in Spokane and Liberty Lake, Luers said.
As a result, "you're going to have encounters," Luers said. "It's a growing problem, if you want to look at it as a problem. A lot of people see it as kind of cool."
In Liberty Lake, moose have been seen on local golf courses, trotting through the Safeway parking lot and hanging out near Legacy Ridge.
Some residents have called concerned about moose not getting access to water or getting stuck in a neighborhood, according to the police department.
"This is a native species; they've evolved to withstand these conditions," Luers said.
She suggests leaving the animal alone or scaring it away with "non-injurious" efforts, such as yelling or throwing small stones.
Fish and Wildlife recommends reporting a moose if it hangs around for more than 48 hours, Luers said.
"That line is when a moose or more than one moose are hanging out for more than a couple of days," she said. "If they plunk themselves down and develop a pattern and they bed down in the same areas … and it's not adjacent to a wild area, that might be a situation to come out and harass the animals."
Don't put a dog outside to scare the moose, however, Luers said.
"Moose look at dogs like wolves. Dogs can solicit a moose charge or attack," she said.
She cautions that people shouldn't offer the animals food, which conditions the moose to approach humans.
"The nature of moose is la-de-da. People mistake that for them being gentle and docile and almost domestic," Luers said. "They're an interesting part of our life here."
For more tips on handling encounters with moose, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/moose.htm