Utah swapping moose for sheep

HUNTSVILLE, Utah – It was a rough day to be a moose.

Several were stalked by helicopter Friday in northern Utah, captured with a net, blindfolded and then airlifted to trailers for a six-hour drive.

The moose woke up in Utah, but they’ll be going to bed in Colorado.

The two-state strategy helps Utah cure a moose overpopulation and raises the number of animals next door in Colorado. In return, Utah will get bighorn sheep.

“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 today.

Wranglers pursued females without offspring because some calves have died in the past when they were transported with their mothers, Riggs said.

From a helicopter, a net is shot over each moose. A person aptly called a “mugger” hops out when the aircraft lands and ties up the animal’s legs, puts a blind over its eyes and cotton in its ears.

“I’ve never mugged a moose, but I guess they’re pretty wimpy once they’re on the ground,” said Justin Dolling, a wildlife manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

The moose then is released from the net and wrapped in a large canvas sack to be airlifted to a staging area where veterinarians are poised to examine the animal and give antibiotics.

The moose gets a radio collar and a quick exam to check for disease before eight to 10 people struggle to put the animal into a horse trailer.

Tranquilizers are not used because they are a health risk. The moose were surprisingly still Friday and didn’t appear to struggle against their predicament – until their eyes were uncovered.

The moose came to life and sent several officers scurrying from the trailer before the door was shut. The job of removing the blind is not an enviable position.

Who draws the short straw?

“That would be the strongest, youngest, dumbest,” Riggs quipped.

Utah has about 4,100 moose, which is right on target. But there are about 400 too many in the area where they were being rounded up, Dolling said.

Too many moose can mean a loss of habitat, which leads to weakened animals or animals wandering into populated areas trying to find food. During a hard winter, they can come down in droves.

On the way to Grand Mesa National Forest, east of Grand Junction, Colo., trailers will stop twice to let the moose sit in quiet for a bit, Riggs said. By night they should be in their new home.

Riggs said his agency is baiting sheep “as we speak, to give back to Utah.”

Utah will get about 20 sheep to be released in the Rock Canyon and Mount Timpanogos areas in Utah County.