Young moose dies after being transported out of Regina

One of the two moose that wandered into Regina on Thursday morning died while being transported out of the city.

Conservation officers believe the stress of the situation and of being tranquillized resulted in a condition known as capture myopathy.

The two animals — a cow and a calf — were spotted in Regina’s northwest neighbourhoods early Thursday.

“Moose are large, very unpredictable wild animals. Cows will defend their calves, and young bulls can be very unpredictable when stressed,” the Ministry of Environment told 980 CJME in an email. “It is important to keep your distance and call the proper authorities when dealing with moose.

“Movement by all wildlife, including moose, can increase in the fall during their rutting season.”

Having first been spotted in Regent Park, the moose were eventually captured close to the north end of Ring Road, a few blocks from Pasqua Street.

Conservation officers, assisted by the Regina Police Service, tranquillized the moose and loaded them onto a trailer to take them out of the city.

That transportation job was given to Geoffrey Calibaba, the owner of Alpine Towing.

“In my jobs, you never expect anything, really; you just go with the flow. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you are doing nothing. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you are towing a moose that day,” Calibaba said.

It isn’t the first time Calibaba has had to tow a moose; he has even transported cows before.

“It wasn’t a very big moose at all. It is still quite large — it feels like a car on the back of the truck — but it’s small compared to what it could have been,” Calibaba explained.