Ok, this is getting crazy!
On Saturday morning, Ottawa Police responded to a call about another disoriented moose in town – this time on St. Laurent Blvd., near the Queensway.
After managing to corral the wayward bullwinkle on Triole Street, police were forced to shoot the animal as relocation was apparently not an option.
The second incident of its kind in the less than two weeks, the need for an urban wildlife management plan is becoming clearer. The City of Ottawa’s contract with the NCC to deal with wildlife issues and enforcement expired back in 2008.
The city has been left without a contingency plan to deal with wildlife ever since, but according to Mayor O’Brien a solution is promised by week’s end.
The Mayor said Chef Vern White is working with Provincial officials to come up with plan on handling urban wildlife issues like this.
To add even more wildlife fuel to the urban fire, a black bear was ‘treed’ in Carleton Place off Frank Street on Friday afternoon. Police had all adjacent roads closed-off and were reportedly out with the long guns.
Word was they were waiting for the MNR to show-up to tranquillize the bear, however, if it came down the tree before the Ministry arrived, they would be forced to shoot it.
No word yet on the outcome of that incident.
QUOTE: “To add even more wildlife fuel to the urban fire, a black bear was ‘treed’ in CP off Frank Street on Friday afternoon. Police had all adjacent roads closed-off and were reportedly out with the long guns. Word was they were waiting for the MNR to show-up to tranquillize the bear,” END QUOTE
If giving them an escaepe route isn’t an option then this is the best approach. But there are still two problems. 1) Access to someone who can tranquilise 2) Training of officers who are involved in these situations. All too often a bear is shot because a person is misinformed about the bears actions and intent. It’s a double edged sword, trainging like this can be expensive especially when you factor in the fact that incidents like these are few and far between and contracting the job out leads to conflict….It’s a slippery slope.
As for the moose, hopefully the meat was harvested.
Trapper: It’s a really good question about the moose..but I have my doubts that the meat was utilized.
Does anybody know?
Trapper, many here may not realize that you have a great deal of experience assisting law enforcement in the area of nuisance wild life control…It might help folks to know where you’re coming from with regards to these situations…
Outdoorsguy
Thankfully the CP bear incident ended with the bear being removed and relocated alive.
Rick, thanks for the update and the story in the first place…guess you must leave the shop now and again…
Any idea if if was the MNR who tranqed the bear and relocated it?
Outdoorsguy
so the MNR go to Carleton Place and tranquillize a bear but won’t come to Ottawa to do the same for a moose. I’ll bet that bear is happy he’s not a moose.
I doubt the meat would be harvested and the first moose they shot a couple weeks ago couldn’t have been harvested because it was traquillixed fist and apparently it makes the meat uneadable for a year. So the MNR says anyway
Iggy, you do realize the difference between these issues? The bear was treed outside the City of Ottawa limits, which makes it a whole separate ball of wax..and would involve the MNR.
I have heard that tranq’ed animals are not fit for human consumption..not sure why…I know Chessy has said that before too.
Oh well, I will be waiting with baited breath for our Mayor to tell us what they plan to do about these situations in town!!
Outdoorsguy
Oh I understand the differences very clear;y. The bear was also inside the town of Carleton Place, so the MNR have a mandate inside the town of CP but refuse to help out when a plea is made inside the City of Ottawa, although they are very quick to check hunters and fishermen inside the city. Also I would say a bear inside a city/town is a little different than a moose inside a city, more iminent danger from a bear to kids at the local schools, yet they kill the moose but tranq the bear, and it will return unless they dispose of it, they never tell you that part, but quite often that is exactly what they do with it.
Iggy, there definitely seems to be some issue with the MNR entering or having any jurisdiction within the City of Ottawa. I don’t know if they had a really big spat years ago….or perhaps it has to do with the old contract the City had with NCC..
Either way, the MNR doesn’t seem to want to touch Ottawa with a 10-foot moose pole!
Outdoorsguy
what i don’t understand is why the red tape BS after the 1st moose. to be fair, it’s not like moose running around is consistent issue other than the last few weeks, but instead of red tape, it’s a quick meeting with the wildlife guy who used the tranq unsuccessfully on the 1st moose. ask him to up the dosage. hand a tranq gun with a few darts to the local police office in orleans. done deal. what’s so hard to figure out beside some bureaucratic BS between jurisdictions etc…
I guess i’m more feisty about moose b/c their population isn’t as large as deer. if it was a deer, there would be plenty more around to not worry about it. but losing a moose can hurt.
here’s another thought; I haven’t looked map wise, but i’m assuming moose #1 and #2 were in the same area? could it be moose #2 or a completely different moose? Just thinking that sometimes the mooseys hang around in the same area which could reinforce that the city should have been better prepared.
Keebler, the first two moose showed-up in Fallingbrook-area of Orleans.. the young bull that escaped from being shot crossed Trim Road heading towards Cumberland..I’m not exactly sure how far St Laurent Blvd would be from there, but I bet its 15 KM’s at least..not that far for a bull to travel during the rut, but I doubt any moose would move that distance during the summer months…It was probably a different moose. Besides, I saw a photo and the one this weekend looked like a young cow.
I share your frustration over the whole political BS, as you call it. Another dead moose is a real shame, a real waste and a kick in the pants for the moose herd.
But hey, keep your eyes and ears to the ground; we are supposed to get word on a “Plan” by week’s end to deal with urban wildlife.
My guess is they’ll renew the contract with the NCC…regardless of what it might cost, but I could be wrong.
Outdoorsguy
“Iggy, there definitely seems to be some issue with the MNR entering or having any jurisdiction within the City of Ottawa”
My point is, if they can come in and enforce game rules, instead of being AH’s they should have come in to help out.
Take our fire department, when that big church fire happened in Aylmer, they sent three rigs and a lot of men over to help out. They could have stood back and said “it’s not our jurisdiction”
Saying stuff like that, when you are paid by the very taxpayers in desperate need of help, should get you fired on the spot!
Friend of mine is an OPP Officer says he shoots more injured wildlife than ever.
Shooting injured animals is completely different that resorting to shooting a disoriented one.
Qoote “Trapper, many here may not realize that you have a great deal of experience assisting law enforcement in the area of nuisance wild life control…It might help folks to know where you’re coming from with regards to these situations…”
I spent 10 years of my life in Northern Ontario (Actually I spent most of my life in Northern Ontario as I was born in the Sault), I participated in the tranquilizing and relocation of nuisance bears, I’ve also dealt with wayward moose and deer, and on one occasion a skunk in a persons recroom.
I’m no where near an expert but have done it enough to know that these situations can be a political nightmare.
Hey Trapper, I’m from the Soo and they’re having ‘fun’ with bears right now too!
I will be spending four days in the Soo next week taking a course at Algoma University.