#MooseOntheLoose: Moose wandering through Nampa lights up social media

A wandering cow moose that was spotted in Nampa on Tuesday morning quickly went viral on social media, prompting questions about how she ended up in a part of Idaho where the massive animals aren’t usually found.

Nampa Police Department shared a photo and video of the moose on its social media around 7:30 a.m., tagging both posts #NampaMoose. The animal was in the area of Franklin Road and Birch and Cherry lanes, raising concerns that it could interfere with traffic.

The post was shared more than 800 times as of 9 a.m. and garnered plenty of Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes.

“Well that’s not the typical cow at large call we handle here in Nampa,” the department wrote on Facebook. “We understand that we are in IDAHO, but we don’t have moose in our neck of the woods on a normal Tuesday morning. But we do today.”

According to Idaho Fish and Game wildlife biologist Kara Campbell, moose are present in most of the state — except the southwestern portion and the Boise metro area.

While it’s not clear how the wayward moose found her way to Canyon County, she no longer is there. Shortly before noon, the police department said the moose had been relocated successfully.

The animal’s arrival in Nampa is perhaps even more unusual due to the fact that moose numbers are declining across the state, which biologists say could be caused by a boom in tick population or increasingly large wildfires.

This story was originally published July 23, 2019 at 8:51 AM.