Theresa Malan and her husband got a pleasant surprise Thursday in Alberta’s Peter Lougheed Provincial Park as they took a drive in the hopes of seeing a moose.
“It’s been too cold to go skiing,” she told Global News Friday. “Literally as we were about to turn around, we saw a moose standing in front of us.
“He left moose kisses all over the vehicle…A pretty Canadian and rare experience!”
Malan, originally from Ontario, has lived in Banff since 2005. She’s seen plenty of moose, but never so close as Thursday near Chester Lake.
“We kept our distance. We live in the national park here so we’re pretty respectful of that.”
The sighting came four days after a warning was issued about moose licking vehicles in the Chester Lake and Burstall Pass area by Alberta Parks. The animals do it to try to get salt off the sides of cars.
“All animals have a natural need for salt because it is an important component in their blood,” Dr. Doug Whiteside at the Calgary Zoo said in a past interview.
He added animals will lose salt throughout the day and need to replenish that in order to maintain good health.
“He was just so placid and came up to us,” Malan said. “Nobody interrupted his space. He approached us…He was just kind and not aggravated or angry or anything.”
With files from Jodi Hughes