“About 15 years ago, I saw a moose in Sabine Pass. It was crossing the road just east of the Keith Lake Boat Cut.”
This call from a live edition of my Higher Calling Wildlife broadcast made me chuckle. And it was not because I thought it was a ridiculous claim but that I knew exactly what she saw.
“Mam, what you saw was not a moose. It was an elk.”
I went on to explain that a landowner on the Louisiana side of the pass had released a small herd of elk on his property. I had seen them twice in Lighthouse Cove and others reported seeing them in various locations.
Several of them crossed over to the Texas side and in fact Texas Parks & Wildlife did a capture of some of them citing concern about them bringing CWD to Texas.
But there was actually once a moose in Texas according to a 1989 story in The Oklahoman..
A wandering bull moose that has been seen on occasion in the Oklahoma Panhandle apparently is in deep trouble in western Kansas.
Kansas wildlife officials said the big bull is in poor body condition and appears to be suffering from severe parasite infestation.
The animal, sporting an impressive set of antlers, was first observed in South Dakota in October 1987. Since then it has traveled through Nebraska and Kansas, across the Panhandle and into Texas. It later returned to Kansas and took up residence in the Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge before beginning another journey last fall. It was seen in Oklahoma last September, near the Optima Wildlife Refuge
This stray moose came over from Colorado and shows that wildlife do not respect maps and boundaries we put on them.
Have you ever seen animal that is not supposed to be where you saw it? A moose in Texas? A grizzly in Colorado?
If so, share you story with me at chester@chestermoore.com.
Photo Of The Year
I had the privilege of taking wildlife photos in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana this year.
My favorite photo was this gorgeous and rare smoke-phase Eatern turkey hen I came across in the Great Smoky Mountains.
It was a great way to end year five of the Turkey Revolution project!
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