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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

School and wildlife officials shoo moose away from north Spokane elementary school

A moose visits the playground at Regal Elementary School on Thursday, May 11, 2017. (KHQ)

A moose moseyed through the Hillyard neighborhood this morning, prompting school officials at Regal Elementary to keep a watchful eye in case she came too close to children.

The moose, an adult female, was spotted sometime around 5:30 a.m. trapped in the school’s playground. Adrian Linghor, who lives in the area of Hoffman Avenue and Regal Street, said he saw her about 6 a.m., still inside the school’s fenced playground.

“The security guys told me to park my truck and block the kids from going in and out of the gate,” he said.

Department of Fish and Wildlife officials were on scene at about 7 a.m., but by that time, the school’s custodian had tracked her moving northeast away from the school. A worker for the department said they were shooing her away from the residential area and toward the Beacon Hill area, avoiding tranquilizing her if they could.

“She was moving along just fine,” said Mike Sprecher, a sergeant at Fish and Wildlife.

Sprecher said the moose was already tagged and well known to department workers. In fact, they went through a similar ordeal in January, when she was found in a neighborhood just south of Interstate 90 in Spokane. Sprecher said she was taken to Pend Oreille County and released but found her way back.

“We’re going to keep a close eye on her,” he said. “She hasn’t been really aggressive or anything, it’s just that she’s not in a good place right now.”

School officials remained vigilant, blocking access to the playground to make sure she didn’t come in contact with children. Tricia Kannberg, principal of Regal Elementary, said the moose left school grounds “way prior” to when children arrived.

“No students were on campus, obviously, at this point,” she said. “We had blocked off all entrances, and told parents if they arrived early, to redirect the children into the building.”

Linghor, who remembers when a moose was found in a resident’s pool about eight years ago in the neighborhood, questioned how she got in there in the first place.

“She sure is beautiful,” he said. “She looked nervous though.”