News from all over - Huntsville
It was a rough day to be a moose. Several were stalked by helicopter, captured with a net, blindfolded and then airlifted to trailers for a six-hour drive. The moose woke up in Utah on Friday but were going to sleep in Colorado.
"I equate this to alien abduction. It's got to be that traumatic," said Dean Riggs, area wildlife manager with the Colorado Wildlife Division.
Wildlife officers hope to catch 25 moose through Saturday in northern Utah and transplant them to western Colorado. On Friday, wranglers in a helicopter shot nets over the moose. A person called a "mugger" tied the animals' legs and put a blind over their eyes and cotton in their ears.
"I've never mugged a moose, but I guess they're pretty wimpy once they're on the ground," Dolling said. The moose were then released from the net and wrapped in a large canvas sack to be airlifted to a staging area where veterinarians examined them and gave them antibiotics. The moose got radio collars and a quick exam to check for disease before crews of eight to 10 people put them into horse trailers.
[Thanks to Dave Barry's Blog for the reference]
"I equate this to alien abduction. It's got to be that traumatic," said Dean Riggs, area wildlife manager with the Colorado Wildlife Division.
Wildlife officers hope to catch 25 moose through Saturday in northern Utah and transplant them to western Colorado. On Friday, wranglers in a helicopter shot nets over the moose. A person called a "mugger" tied the animals' legs and put a blind over their eyes and cotton in their ears.
"I've never mugged a moose, but I guess they're pretty wimpy once they're on the ground," Dolling said. The moose were then released from the net and wrapped in a large canvas sack to be airlifted to a staging area where veterinarians examined them and gave them antibiotics. The moose got radio collars and a quick exam to check for disease before crews of eight to 10 people put them into horse trailers.
[Thanks to Dave Barry's Blog for the reference]
