Ottawa police shoot 1 of 2 loose moose

A moose was shot dead by police and another has returned to the woods after the two animals wandered into the grounds of an Ottawa school on Tuesday.

Police had set up a perimeter Tuesday afternoon at the rear of École élémentaire catholique des Pionniers on Merkley Drive in Orléans, where the two moose had been corralled for most of the morning before escaping in the afternoon.

One of the animals ended up in a backyard on Bottriel Way, west of the school, where police shot it three times.

"After several unsuccessful attempts at tranquilizing the two animals, one resilient moose had to be put down to ensure public safety," Ottawa police said in a statement.

The other was last seen around 2 p.m. in bush along Highway 174, north of the school, police said. Police later reported that it had returned to a wooded area.

Attempt to tranquilize animals unsuccessful

At the time when the moose broke out of the police perimeter, they had both been hit with tranquilizer darts but continued to run around.

Ottawa police had contracted the owner of the Papanack Park Zoo in Wendover, Ont., to help sedate the animals so they could be relocated.

However, just hitting the target had been a challenge because of the morning's rainy conditions and the fact that noise from each shot fired startled the animals, prompting them to bolt around the area, Chad Pawson of CBC News reported.

Eventually, a second load of tranquilizers had to be brought in because the first load all missed their targets.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources spokeswoman Jolanta Kowalski said landowners are responsible for dealing with wildlife problems on their property.

The ministry provided Ottawa police with technical advice and put them in touch with wildlife experts, she added. However, the ministry itself has no staff experienced with moose removal in the area.

According to ministry biologists, the moose were likely from a known population at the eastern edge of the city.