Moose found dead at refuge
It’s hunting season in Alberta, but concerns are being raised about where people are shooting after two moose were found dead in a wildlife refuge.
The moose, called Polly and Beau, were being cared for at the Cochrane Ecological Institute, a charity that rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife.
In the past week, both of the animals have been found dead in their 65-hectare fenced enclosure and the operator believes they were both shot by hunters.
“We’ve been hearing gunshots ever since the season opened,” said Clio Smeeton, president of the institute.
One day last week, they found Beau — a two-year-old male moose — dead behind one of their buildings. They didn’t know what happened, but then they saw three-yearold Polly collapse in the enclosure late Friday.
Smeeton said they couldn’t check on her until the morning because there were bison in the enclosure around her. By then, the coyotes had mostly eaten the carcass.
“We couldn’t find a bullet,” she said, noting they believe the two animals were shot because they’ve lost three other moose the same way in recent years. “We’re not rearing animals for hunters to take potshots at them.”
Whether it was a mistake or deliberate, Smeeton said it’s dangerous for both the animals and the people who care for the animals.
The latest incident has left the institute’s volunteers shaken.
“It’s completely unacceptable,” said Harper-Lee Overli, a regular volunteer who has cared for Beau since he was brought in as a weak orphan in the spring of 2012. “They are using guns in an area where they shouldn’t be.”
There are several homes nearby, as well as a roadway.
Overli said it’s also scary for the volunteers, who will go into the enclosure — which is surrounded by a two-metre high fence — to tend to the animals.
“It could have easily resulted in a worse situation,” she said.
In addition, she said it’s difficult to see the death of the moose.
“They are just majestic creatures,” said Overli, noting Beau was starting to sprout antlers for the first time this year as he started to grow into a fullsized moose.
The institute called the province’s Fish and Wildlife officers to investigate, but the operator was told nothing could be done unless they had a vehicle licence plate and a description, as well as the bullets from the animals.
No one from Fish and Wildlife returned calls for comment.