Wayward moose enjoys brief dip at Lewiston > Spoilsport wardens tranquilize beast, banish it to Gray

LEWISTON — Question: Where does an 800-pound bull moose go swimming? Answer: Anywhere he pleases, even if it’s a backyard pool in Maine’s second-largest city.

Just ask Mark Adams, who was at work Monday when such an animal hopped into his pool, enjoying the water until wardens tranquilized the moose and transported him to a state game farm.

“Maybe I should put up a bigger fence,” joked Adams, who went home and watched with a small crowd of spectators.

Police said it was probably the same moose that had been in another city pool Sunday until a warden spooked the animal and it ran away.

At Adams’ house, it took two doses of tranquilizers to immobilize the moose and a city crane to remove it.

When David Wilbur, superintendent of the state game farm in Gray, shot the moose with a tranquilizer dart, it climbed out of the water, jumped over a fence around the pool and walked to the rear of the yard before collapsing.

Wilbur injected more tranquilizers, and the crane moved in, lifting the animal with straps wrapped around its 12-point antlers into a game warden’s pickup truck for the trip to Gray. Wardens said the animal would remain there for a time before being released into the woods.

“It’s not unusual to see moose out and about this time of year,” Wilbur said. “Once mating season starts, they’re moving around quite a bit.”

Adams was satisfied with the way things worked out.

“He didn’t cause any problems, though I don’t think he was too happy. I’m just glad he’s going to be taken care of,” he said.