A severely ill young bull moose had to be shot on Sidelinger Rd, Nobleboro at the apartment complex owned by MidCoast Energy Systems March 20.
Heather Brown first noticed the young moose about 9:15 a.m. as he wandered across the lawn by her front windows. “I went outside to watch him. He looked fine, healthy coat and so on, but he didn’t run away from me,” she said.
Responding to a call from Brown, Colleen Reynolds of MidCoast Energy Systems went to the scene. “He was a pretty moose, but he was walking in circles and he did look so tired,” Reynolds said.
After an hour of watching and taking pictures, Brown realized that something was very wrong. “He started walking in circles to the right, then bumped up against one car, and actually climbed on mine before going back to circles.”
At that point, Brown called the town office and Michelle Merrifield, one of the area’s Game Wardens went to the location to assess the moose. “I expected to find him infested with ticks, but his coat was beautiful,” said Merrifield. “He looked healthy, except for what appeared to be a blind eye. It was his behavior that made it clear he had brain worm.”
Merrifield saw a lot of brain worm in the moose population while serving as a game warden in Aroostook County, she said. It was immediately clear to her that this was causing the erratic behavior. The moose was circling in small open areas, but the proximity to Rt. 1 was a real concern.
“He would start into the woods, but circle back towards Rt. 1,” Brown said. “It was clear he might head to the highway at any time.”
Merrifield made the decision to shoot the moose and did so with one clean shot, which prevented the animal from bolting to the road where lives might been endangered.
“As much as anyone can she did a great job,” said Brown, “I warned the neighbors so that they would not be frightened and she took care of business.”
According to the Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website, signs of “moose sickness” include aimless walking in circles, holding head and ears in abnormal positions, frequent stumbling, poor coordination or balance, and apparent weakness or paralysis of a leg. Animals showing such severe signs of disease will eventually die.
“People sometimes see a sick moose but do not report the sighting because they do not realize the animal is sick,” Merrifield said. “Often infected moose have been photographed by people who have assumed the animal was just unafraid of people. That is not normal for any wildlife.”
It is important to note that the worm itself is “of no public health significance since it is not infective to humans,” according to maine.gov. Meat of infected animals is safe for human consumption when properly cooked and handled.
“It’s a shame, but the moose was going to succumb to the illness,” Merrifield said. “We had to be sure that he didn’t cause accidents on the highway or suffer needlessly himself. He was a pretty boy. It’s not easy when they look healthy like this, but are so sick.”
