Moose has taken up residence in Greeley

Greeley Tribune

A moose was on the loose in west Greeley on Wednesday morning, posing for a couple of pictures before moosing — moving — on.

Delona Ault was on her morning walk near the Poudre River in west Greeley when she saw the bull moose.

“I froze; I didn’t know what to do,” Ault said. “He stopped and looked at me.”

So Ault, keeping a safe distance, snapped some pictures.

“I said, ‘I have to get some pictures; nobody will believe me,’ ” she said.

The folks at Colorado Parks and Wildlife believe her. They have been tracking this particular bull moose since July 20, when he first showed up in Greeley.

Elise Willcox, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Fort Collins office, said employees have an email chain going, monitoring the solo moose’s whereabouts.

He has been spotted along the Poudre Trail and at Boomerang Links Golf Course in the western parts of Greeley.

“We’re just letting him do his thing,” Willcox said. “If he’s getting too far into residential neighborhoods, we would have an officer or two go out and evaluate the situation.”

Willcox said it’s unusual for a moose to be this far east, saying they have some concerns for the moose because of the higher temperatures.

Boomerang golf pro Marc Silva said staff at the course saw the moose Wednesday morning, taking video of it on the No. 5 fairway and the No. 2 tee box.

Willcox recommends people keep their distance if they see the moose, although she agreed he’s not likely to be too aggressive at this point in the year. Also, there’s no evidence that he’s being accompanied by females, meaning a lower risk of aggression.

Still, Willcox said CPW officials typically recommend keeping a distance of about 200 feet or more from large animals such as moose.