MOOSE RESCUE: Crews track, tranquilize then rescue moose from creek

Moose rescued from creek after being tranquilized (photo from Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

by: Colleen Flynn

Posted: Jul 22, 2021 / 08:05 PM MDT

Updated: Jul 22, 2021 / 08:16 PM MDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

FORT CARSON, Colo. (KDVR) — Army personnel worked with Colorado Parks and Wildlife rangers to rescue a moose that fell in a creek on Thursday.

The adventure began Tuesday when a moose was spotted on a golf course off Highway 115 in Colorado Springs. CPW Area Wildlife Manager Cody Wigner decided to catch the animal and move it since it was near people, domestic animals and vehicle traffic.

Here's the actual release. This bull moose was reluctant to leave the trailer. So wait for it!
This is what @COParksWildlife staff live for . . . rescuing a wild animal from a bad situation and sending it back into the wild. pic.twitter.com/iDGCw7RcSg
— CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) July 22, 2021

A CPW crew tracked the 750 pound bull moose for hours on Tuesday but were unable to catch it. The 1- to 2-year-old animal was then spotted on Fort Carson property on Thursday. Fort Carson Conservation Law Enforcement officers teamed up with CPW rangers to track the moose for five hours and tranquilize it.

But it wasn’t a cut and dry rescue. The moose took off after it was shot with the tranquilizer dart and fell into a creek. The crews surrounded the animal to keep it from drowning and rolled him out on tarps. He was then put on a front-end loader and transported up the embankment to a trailer.

The moose got a shower to cool off and calm down after the tranquilizer wore off, then he was taken to the mountains and released.