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Moose breaks into Newmarket Place

TISDALE — No residents were injured as an adult moose broke through a window into the dining room area at Newmarket Place in Tisdale.
Stock moose
Stock photo

TISDALE — No residents were injured as an adult moose broke through a window into the dining room area at Newmarket Place in Tisdale.

After breaking through the glass, the moose then proceeded down the hall, where it crashed through another window and left – leaving a blood trail behind.

“I don’t think it caused any significant damage through the building, other than it did go through the two areas – the entrance, and where it exited,” said Doug Dahl, communications officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“While there were residents at the area the moose came in, nobody was injured.”

The incident took place on March 22.

Dahl said building services have begun work on doing repairs and sealing the building.

After the moose fled, the RCMP contacted conservation officers out of Melfort, at around 6:45 p.m.

Steve Dobko, inspector of the compliance and field services with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, said the officer’s main priority was to locate the moose and determine the extent of its injuries.

“He did that. He located the moose about one-and-a-half kilometres northwest of Tisdale,” Dobko said. “The moose was bedded down and had considerable injuries and cuts, obviously from the glass.”

Based on the animal’s demeanor and injuries, the officer made the decision to euthanize it.

The ministry’s current belief is that the moose jumped over the fence surrounding Newmarket Place, and panicked, believing that it was stuck.

Dobko said at this point in the year, as temperatures get warmer, movement by wildlife increases. In addition, moose are seasonally foraging.

“Sometimes they’re attracted to these urban locations with the brows and the shelterbelts, and it gets them in these communities – which starts the process of a problem,” he said.

“In this situation, what I think happened was this moose, once they got into the town, they faced increased stress. They obviously faced stress with the buildings, the vehicles, the people that they encounter. As their stress increases they become very unpredictable.”

Dobko said it was likely that the moose jumped over the fence due to the stress.

“It couldn’t get out, and obviously it would have increasingly become more panicked, and then I think what likely happened is it saw its reflection in one of the glass windows. It could have perceived that reflection of another moose or just even a means of escaping.”

Anyone who spots a moose within town limits should contact their local conservation officer through their tip line at 1-800-667-7561 or on the SaskTel network #5555.