In the News - The Call of the Wild (a funny)

From a friend's E-Mail... Holy Bullwinkle.

Moose Captured After Boy Plays Saxophone

From Associated Press
December 20, 2005 9:02 PM EST

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A moose that had been wandering near Sioux Falls and other parts of eastern South Dakota in recent weeks has been captured and taken to the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls.

Veterinarian Dayton Williams of Sioux Falls brought down the animal with a tranquilizer gun around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday as it moved through snow-covered corn stubble near Interstate 29, south of Sioux Falls.

The animal was loaded into a horse trailer and transported to the zoo.

Connie Evenson of Sioux Falls was among those who saw the moose. She said she noticed movement in her backyard Monday afternoon as she watched television in her living room.

"At first I thought it was somebody's dog," Evenson said. "Then I got up to look out of our bank of windows, and it was much bigger."

She called to her family and took photos of the animal as it came within 20 feet of their house.

"We thought it was kind of funny, but our son, Matt, was practicing his baritone saxophone and had his window open," Evenson said. "We wondered if it was like the call of the wild that attracted the moose to our house."

State Game, Fish and Parks officers had been tracking the moose for a couple of months and decided to catch it to prevent it from becoming a public safety threat, officials said.

"Being it was staying so close to Sioux Falls for such a long time ... we were concerned a little bit with the public's safety," said Arden Petersen, a regional supervisor for the GF&P.

The moose won't be on public display at the zoo, officials said. Instead, they hope to calm it down and relocate the animal.