srd65
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This is in the Aberdeen SD paper this AM. Click on link for photo
Moose mooooves in with Frederick herd
'Lonely' young bull didn't want to leave cattle
By Sarah Ottney
American News Writer
The bull mooose in the background spent several days grazing with Tom Gunther's cattle herd near Frederick. "The cows didn't have a problem with it; they checked him out, but I guess they thought he was one of them," Gunther said. An expert was finally called in to keep the wandering creature moving.It's not every day that a moose jumps the fence of your pasture and makes itself at home with your cows.
It's even less common if the moose then refuses to leave.
But that's exactly what happened to Tom Gunther this week.
Gunther, who farms and ranches with his brother and father on land northwest of Frederick, first learned his cows weren't alone in their pasture on Sunday.
"I was out pheasant hunting and ran into a guy who had spotted him (the moose) and wondered if we knew we had a moose out in our pasture," Gunther said with a laugh. "I said 'No.'"
Gunther, who lives in Hecla, said he thinks the young bull moose must have simply stepped over the fence with its long legs.
Gunther said the moose was first spotted with his herd Friday afternoon. It then spent the next four nights with the cows and calves.
"This guy was just lonely," Gunther said. "He just wanted to be with some company."
The problem was, he just wouldn't leave.
"When it was time to bring the cows home Tuesday morning, the cows went through the gate onto the road for home and the moose stayed in the pasture," Gunther said. "But then when the cows passed the moose, he stepped over the fence to join the cows again.
"A little ways down the road, he kind of peeled off a little, so we got the cows moving faster trying to lose him, but he just started running to catch up. He followed the cows all the way home, so we just put him in the corral with the rest."
Gunther said the moose didn't seem bothered by either the men or the four-wheelers they used to trail the cows.
"He wasn't bothered by us or aggressive at all. ... He just meandered right along with them (the cows)."
And what did the cows make of the situation?
"The cows didn't have a problem with it; they checked him out, but I guess they thought he was one of them. ... The moose just laid with them and grazed with them. They didn't have a problem being together."
Once home, Gunther said he called the state Game, Fish and Parks Department office in Aberdeen. Officials there notified an animal trapper.
"The state trapper didn't really know what to do," Gunther said, recalling efforts to separate the moose from the cows and calves.
"He (the moose) got kind of excited, jumped a windbreak and got in with some yearling bulls. He jumped a few more fences and got in with some neighbor's cows. The trapper shot in the air behind him to scare him and get him moving and away from the cow herds to let him free-roam."
That was the last Gunther saw of the moose - it was heading north through a soybean field.
"We're just gonna let him be. Maybe he'll head back where he came from."
Gunther said it's not uncommon to come across a moose in South Dakota every once in a while. He thinks this one might have come from northwest Minnesota or eastern North Dakota.
In fact, this isn't the first time a moose has been found on the family's land.
Gunther said there was a moose on his father's property about 10 years ago, but that one just moved off one night on its own.
This moose was unusual because it became so attached to the herd, he said.
"It's not something you see every day, that's for sure. I've seen a lot of things, but not that."
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15899356.htm
Moose mooooves in with Frederick herd
'Lonely' young bull didn't want to leave cattle
By Sarah Ottney
American News Writer
The bull mooose in the background spent several days grazing with Tom Gunther's cattle herd near Frederick. "The cows didn't have a problem with it; they checked him out, but I guess they thought he was one of them," Gunther said. An expert was finally called in to keep the wandering creature moving.It's not every day that a moose jumps the fence of your pasture and makes itself at home with your cows.
It's even less common if the moose then refuses to leave.
But that's exactly what happened to Tom Gunther this week.
Gunther, who farms and ranches with his brother and father on land northwest of Frederick, first learned his cows weren't alone in their pasture on Sunday.
"I was out pheasant hunting and ran into a guy who had spotted him (the moose) and wondered if we knew we had a moose out in our pasture," Gunther said with a laugh. "I said 'No.'"
Gunther, who lives in Hecla, said he thinks the young bull moose must have simply stepped over the fence with its long legs.
Gunther said the moose was first spotted with his herd Friday afternoon. It then spent the next four nights with the cows and calves.
"This guy was just lonely," Gunther said. "He just wanted to be with some company."
The problem was, he just wouldn't leave.
"When it was time to bring the cows home Tuesday morning, the cows went through the gate onto the road for home and the moose stayed in the pasture," Gunther said. "But then when the cows passed the moose, he stepped over the fence to join the cows again.
"A little ways down the road, he kind of peeled off a little, so we got the cows moving faster trying to lose him, but he just started running to catch up. He followed the cows all the way home, so we just put him in the corral with the rest."
Gunther said the moose didn't seem bothered by either the men or the four-wheelers they used to trail the cows.
"He wasn't bothered by us or aggressive at all. ... He just meandered right along with them (the cows)."
And what did the cows make of the situation?
"The cows didn't have a problem with it; they checked him out, but I guess they thought he was one of them. ... The moose just laid with them and grazed with them. They didn't have a problem being together."
Once home, Gunther said he called the state Game, Fish and Parks Department office in Aberdeen. Officials there notified an animal trapper.
"The state trapper didn't really know what to do," Gunther said, recalling efforts to separate the moose from the cows and calves.
"He (the moose) got kind of excited, jumped a windbreak and got in with some yearling bulls. He jumped a few more fences and got in with some neighbor's cows. The trapper shot in the air behind him to scare him and get him moving and away from the cow herds to let him free-roam."
That was the last Gunther saw of the moose - it was heading north through a soybean field.
"We're just gonna let him be. Maybe he'll head back where he came from."
Gunther said it's not uncommon to come across a moose in South Dakota every once in a while. He thinks this one might have come from northwest Minnesota or eastern North Dakota.
In fact, this isn't the first time a moose has been found on the family's land.
Gunther said there was a moose on his father's property about 10 years ago, but that one just moved off one night on its own.
This moose was unusual because it became so attached to the herd, he said.
"It's not something you see every day, that's for sure. I've seen a lot of things, but not that."
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/15899356.htm
