Moose In Our Midst Conerns About Human-Moose Encounters Spur State Study Of The Animals On And Around Mount Spokane

Just beyond Sullivan Road, where the Spokane River and pine branches heavy with wet snow muffle the rush of traffic, a moose and her calf lay silently.

They twitch an ear toward the icy crunch of car tires on the road that parallels the river and the occasional roar of passing county snowplows.

Two days prior, the pair was in Otis Orchards, farther from Interstate 90 and the busy arterials of the Spokane Valley. But the mother and her calf continued determinedly downstream.

When moose wander into town, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife receives dozens of phone calls from residents who are either thrilled to see the animals or concerned about having them in their neighborhoods.

A rapidly growing Valley population and a slowly growing moose population have made these kind of encounters more and more common.

Concerns about the number of moose wandering into suburban and even urban areas and a desire to learn more about the animals spurred the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council to begin studying moose on Mount Spokane and in the surrounding foothills.

In the past two years, 24 moose have been tagged and fitted with radio collars, says Woody Myers, a biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

By studying the animals, biologists hope to learn where the moose live, how they move through the area, where they have their calves, how long they live and why they come into the city.

The answers will help the department of wildlife better understand what conditions bring moose off the mountains, how to avoid problems with moose coming into busy areas of town, overall survival rates and even how many hunting permits should be issued annually.

Moose that wander into the Valley are most likely to use one of two different paths, according to the study’s preliminary results. Myers says the most heavily traveled corridor is along Peone Creek and then down Forker Road past Foothills Community Church and down toward Sullivan Road. The moose also tend to come out of the foothills of Mount Spokane in the lower country west of Forker Road and east of the Newport Highway.

Biologists believe that about 140 to 200 moose live on Mount Spokane, including the foothills in both Washington and Idaho.

Moose come out of the mountains most often between May and July, Myers says. Yearlings, kicked out by mothers readying for another calf, are the animals most frequently seen in town in the spring and summer.

“These moose are wandering around trying to establish territories,” Myers says.

During winter, moose that move to lower elevations searching for food might end up in an outlying neighborhood.

Wende Barker has lived on MacMahan Road about two miles east of the Foothills Community Church since 1985. Her yard is frequently visited by raccoons, deer, elk and moose. She has even seen a black bear and her cub and a cougar in her neighborhood.

But the number of moose she and her family see seems to be rising.

“We have really noticed more probably in the last five or six years,” she says. “I think we’re seeing more of them now than we did when we first moved here.”

She says the animals are one of the things her family enjoys most about living in the foothills, although they have had to learn to live with the critters.

Barker says she is wary of walking during the spring when moose are likely to be protective of their calves. Otherwise, she says, the moose really just wander through without causing problems.

“You just have to go with it, I figure they were here first,” she says.

Moose that wander into the urban core of Spokane - considered the “no-moose zone” by the Department of Fish and Wildlife - are immediately moved out of the city. The animals are too big, too unpredictable and too easily irritated to make good neighbors in the confines of the city.

However, when wanderlust brings a moose into the less populated areas of the Valley or the northern edges of Spokane, they are watched but left alone. Only when an animal veers too close to a major highway or busy neighborhood, its life is threatened or human safety becomes a concern is it moved, says Madonna Luers, spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We like to keep a handle on what’s going on, but don’t necessarily expect that we are going to come out and move a moose every time,” Luers says.

When moose are outside the “no-moose zone” and not in danger otherwise, wardens would rather educate people about how to live with the wildlife than endanger the animals with relocation.

For example, game wardens watched the cow and calf that wandered into Otis Orchards last week, but decided it was time to move them out of town after the pair continued to head toward Sullivan Road and into more densely populated areas of the Valley.

If the animals don’t leave the area themselves, they will likely be tranquilized and moved to higher ground.

Dale Williams, a retired teacher and member of the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, says he hopes the cooperative moose study will help reduce conflicts between the animals and residents.

“As more and more people move into moose habitat, there are undoubtedly going to be more conflicts. People who don’t want the moose in their pools, eating their shrubbery and digging up their sprinkler systems,” Williams says. “We don’t know any easy solutions yet, we can’t tell people, `Don’t live here,’ or tell the moose, `You can’t live here anymore.’

“By better understanding what their needs are and their normal home range, maybe we can devise some solutions to the problem.”

Although the Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages residents who are visited by moose to learn to live with the animals, they discourage people from trying to help them.

Feeding moose, especially by hand, can cause the animals to lose their natural fear of humans. Moose who have been hand fed will approach other people looking for handouts and can become aggressive if they are not fed.

“One thing I wish people would understand is that moose are large animals and they can be dangerous. If they lose their respect and fear for people they can hurt us very seriously,” Myers says.

Moose that have lost their fear of humans have to be relocated and sometimes killed if they become too dangerous.

“I think most people love to see the wildlife, but with that comes some responsibility and risk,” Luers says. “I guess our bottom line message we’d like to get out to Spokane and Spokane area residents is that we’ve got moose, isn’t that great, but we’ve got to learn to live with them and use some common sense.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: Give moose wide berth

Here are some moose tips suggested by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Don’t approach moose.

Enjoy them from a distance.

Use binoculars and take pictures with a telephoto lens.

Although moose may seem quiet and gentle, they can become agitated and aggressive if they are approached repeatedly.

Moose are not built for speed like deer and elk. If they feel threatened they are more likely to fight than flee. They will charge and kick with their front feet to knock down a threat, then stomp and kick with all four hooves. Antlered bulls can use their racks - which can spread as wide as six feet across - to gore or toss someone if they feel threatened.

Don’t feed moose. This can cause moose to lose their fear of humans and start looking for handouts. They can become aggressive when other people don’t indulge them.

Keep dogs inside or confined when a moose is near.

Residents should give moose an especially wide berth at several times during the year:

In the late spring and early summer, be careful of cows and their calves. Beware of bull moose in the fall breeding season.

During the winter, moose can be confrontational because they are hungry and tired from walking in deep snow.

If a moose has wandered into a suburban or urban area, call the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Spokane office at 456-4082.