A young moose has been on the loose in a Pictou County community for the past few weeks and residents have been making the trek to Abercrombie, N.S. to sneak a peek at the animal.
Resident Kevin Rector says you never know when the moose will make an appearance, but when he does, the cars and cameras come out in droves.
“You’ll have to set up a toll booth around here, yeah, there’s quite a bit of traffic every day,” says Rector.
Officials with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources have been keeping an eye out for the moose. DNR biologist Shavonne Meyer says the animal is enjoying some of the ornamental trees in the area, including willows.
“What we have is a young bull mainland moose, which is an endangered species, appears to be approximately two years old, in good, healthy condition, uninjured and behaving normal,” says Meyer.
Meyer says tranquilizing the moose would be a last resort and it doesn’t appear to be necessary at this time. She also says motorists should stay alert and drive carefully.
“We don’t want the moose to stay here, but we want to give it some time, to make its own decision as to where to go,” says Meyer.
She says the moose is probably staying in the area because it has everything it needs, except for a mate. However, she says the moose won’t be looking for a partner until the fall.
Meanwhile, she is asking people to keep their distance and refrain from trying to feed the moose.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
