A moose that was spotted on Parlee Beach on Monday has died.
A spokesperson for New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development said the animal drowned Monday night despite officials’ efforts to lure it to safety.
A unique sighting for many, Robert Surette says he hadn’t seen a moose in the many years he’s visited the southeast New Brunswick provincial park.
“We saw the moose was coming this way, and then it was coming on the sandbar,” he says. “He got to the sandbar and he started trotting and got into deeper water.”
The Atlantic Wildlife Institute says the moose was likely stressed due to human activity along the beach and on the water. The group says there’s a healthy moose population in the Shediac and Cape Jourimain area.
And while the moose wasn’t something the average person would expect to see on a beach, it has created an important dialogue, says the group’s executive director.
“It’s not an unusual thing to see a moose, it’s not an unusual thing to see a moose in the ocean,” says Barry Rothfuss, the organization’s director. “It’s an unusual thing to see it stressed out and swimming around the way that it was swimming around.”
He says some photos and videos online appear to show people getting too close to the animal and making noise that could possibly startle it.
“In this particular scenario, I think people congregated to see the novelty of the situation, which magnified the problem,” Rothfuss says.
He says it’s important to get out of the way and let professionals do their job.
From his vantage point though, Surette, an avid beachgoer, says it didn’t appear people were getting too close.
“I think everybody was pretty well respectful, and the coast guard were actually following it at a reasonable distance to keep jet skis away and motorboats,” Surette says. “It was just the fact that it didn’t come to the marsh over there because of all the people. And then it went back out to sea.”
A spokesperson for New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development says the young bull moose was spotted at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Shediac Bay, southwest of Parlee Beach. Officials arrived and monitored the moose for several hours.
But more calls came in at about 5 p.m., says spokesperson Nick Brown, indicating the moose was on the beach.
“Right away, the lifeguards did a good job and they recommended people step out of the water for their own safety,” says Michel Mallet, the provincial park’s manager.
So with the help of Fisheries and Oceans staff, Natural Resources officials tried to lure the moose towards a more isolated area of the shore.
However, the animal was already showing signs of fatigue and going underwater, Brown says.
The animal drowned soon after and was removed from the water, he says.
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