Golf-course moose gets a new home

The Daily Inter Lake

A moose with a fondness for a golf course has been relocated to make way for the golfing opener this weekend.

The 3-year old bull moose that had been frequenting the Whitefish Lake Golf Club since January was captured Friday and released above Whitefish Lake, according to a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Erik Wenum, a state wildlife conflict specialist, fired a tranquilizer dart into the animal.

Veterinarian Jennifer Ramsey from the state wildlife lab in Bozeman helped prepare the drug used to immobilize the moose. The moose was tranquilized with carfentanil, a specialized drug that has been found to be effective on moose and other large wildlife.

The moose was loaded into a horse trailer and transported up the Lazy Creek drainage above Whitefish Lake.

On Thursday, Wenum and a number of Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens and members of the Whitefish Police Department had unsuccessfully attempted to haze the moose out of the fenced golf-course area.

With the golf season at Whitefish Lake getting under way this weekend, the moose was moved in the interest of public safety.

Wenum said golf-course officials had been patient, closing part of the cross-country ski area during the winter and tolerating damage to ornamental plants caused by the moose.