Wildlife officials shoot aggressive moose

'The animal was definitely dangerous'

The Daily Inter Lake

An aggressive moose with vision problems that had charged skiers and snowmobiles was killed Sunday morning up the North Fork.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel shot the moose in the Upper Big Creek drainage north of Whitefish.

The moose was identified as the animal that had displayed erratic behavior, according to a press release from Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

State wildlife personnel approached within 20 yards of the moose and examined both eyes and other characteristics with binoculars before the animal was dispatched.

A number of people had described the moose as a large animal with abnormal or glassy eyes.

On Wednesday, the moose had charged to within three feet of skier Kevin Green and kicked at him near the Canyon Creek Road.

"I hit it on the nose with my ski pole and I was yelling pretty loud," Green said of the encounter. The moose also had charged another pair of skiers, who hid in a tree well to escape the animal.

Earlier that day, Whitefish photographer David Marx had a standoff with the moose.

And on Dec. 29, the moose had kicked at two snowmobiles - putting its hoof through the hood of one snow machine - and refused to budge for a trail-grooming machine.

Photos taken last week when the moose had attacked Green confirmed that the animal had abnormal, opaque-looking eyes. Based on descriptions, this also was the moose that damaged the snowmobiles.

The moose was an older, 7- to 9-year-old bull that already had lost its antlers. Both eyes were abnormal and appeared to be affected by a corneal disease that would have given the moose very limited vision, which could explain its erratic and aggressive behavior, the state press release said.

The animal was in poor condition and had virtually no body fat.

"This was a very clear case of a significant threat to public safety," said Lee Anderson, Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region One warden captain. "With this kind of abnormality, the animal was definitely dangerous."

Region One Supervisor Jim Satterfield noted that Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Forest Service staffers had spent several days last week in a difficult effort to respond to concerns about this moose.

"We dispatch an animal only as a last resort," he said. "In this case, this was the only responsible course of action, given the incident with the skiers and the condition of the moose."

Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Forest Service officials had patrolled the area on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but were unable to locate the moose until Sunday.