Young moose wanders into Cody, safely taken away

A young moose made a rare appearance in Cody over the past couple of days — even getting a brief meeting with the mayor.

The moose apparently wandered into the city this weekend, being spotted late Sunday night near Big Horn Redi-Mix and the Park County Law Enforcement Center on River View Drive, said Cody Police officer and department spokesman John Harris. The moose, believed to be a juvenile yearling, managed to stay out of the view of authorities last night, but he was spotted in a backyard on Newton Avenue today, Harris said.

Cody Police Officer Josh Van Auken and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Dusty Lasseter look over the tranquilized moose. Photo courtesy Cody Police Officer John Harris

“He was just sitting down and he wasn’t causing any problems, but the Game and Fish (Department) determined the best way to deal with him was to tranquilize him and move him to a better environment,” Harris said.

The operation went smoothly, he said, with the moose darted and unconscious in a matter of about 10 minutes. The animal was then moved to a horse trailer, where he got a photograph with Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown before being taken far from town. (Unfortunately for the young bull, the sedatives likely mean he won't remember the photo op.)

Harris, a life-long Cody resident, couldn't recall another instance where a moose had ventured so far into town. One visited the outskirts of Powell in October 2010.

~By CJ Baker

by CJ Baker, Cody police, wildlife, Wyoming Game and Fish