Moose Mixed With Cows
by David Flint
A yearling moose began hanging out at the end of July with the cows on the farm of Leo and Janette Roberts on Newton Road in Stephentown. Leo said it wasn’t bothering anybody. But the animal looked a bit scruffy – it may have been molting – and it seemed to have no fear of humans. So people who observed it began to wonder if there was something wrong with it and eventually the Department of Environmental Conservation was called to come have a look.
Nancy Heaslip, Senior Wildlife Biologist at DEC’s Region 4 Office in Schenectady, said the animal’s behavior was definitely strange. The young bull moose showed no reaction when a group of people from DEC approached him and even laid hands on him. According to Heaslip, the first thing they think of when a
moose is acting strangely is the parasite known as brainworm. Heaslip said a number of moose in Rensselaer County have been found to have brainworm. Recently a hiker came across a moose lying down in the Capital District Wildlife Management Area in Stephentown. Another was found by hunters laying in a hay field near Best Road. Both animals were believed to have brainworm and were dispatched by DEC. Another moose was hit by a car on the Plank Road in Berlin. Subsequent tests on these animals showed that they all had the brainworm parasite for which there is no treatment or vaccine.
Having observed the young moose on the Roberts farm, the DEC team concluded that it, too, was probably infected with the parasite and the best thing to do was to put it down.
Heaslip said this week that they may have acted prematurely. The moose’s remains were taken for testing and the results turned out to be negative, both for brainworm and for rabies. She had no explanation for the animal’s strange behavior, but Heaslip felt sad that he was needlessly put down. The moose is a relatively new returnee to this area, she said, and wildlife specialists are trying to learn more about the species and their problems through experience.
The Department of Agriculture & Markets recently sent out an alert about an incidence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in a horse in Oswego County. Asked if the moose could possibly have been suffering from this fatal disease, Heaslip said that is not something they tested for but she does not believe that EEE has ever been found to occur in the moose population.
