City

Moose killed by cops after roaming mall, downtown

By Staff report

Jul 07, 2009 12:00 am

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

A moose limps around the backyard of an apartment building on Pine Street in Lewiston Monday afternoon.

- Russ Dillingham

A moose wanders around inside the Lewiston Mall near Radio Shack early Monday morning after breaking through a window in front of Bull Moose Music.

- Lewiston Police Department photo

A young moose eyes residents and police gathered in the backyard of apartment buildings off Pine Street in Lewiston Monday afternoon.

- Russ Dillingham

LEWISTON — After rampaging through a local mall earlier in the day, a moose was shot Monday early afternoon by police in the backyard of a downtown apartment building.

The cow moose, weighing roughly 500 pounds, took refuge at the shaded lawn behind the Pine Street building after suffering a broken leg, police said.

Police used two rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun to kill the animal.

Reports of a moose in the city's downtown area had been reported the past couple of weeks. Police believe the same moose that smashed through a window at the Lewiston Mall around 1 a.m. Monday in front of Bull Moose Music is the same one that came to its end at Pine Street. Officers noticed cuts on the animal's legs, likely from the plate glass window at the mall. A passerby called 911 Monday morning after seeing the moose breaking into the mall and setting off alarms. It couldn't find its way out, Lt. Mark Cornelio said.

Police called a mall worker, who opened the entrance doors and the moose ran out, Cornelio said.

Later, the moose apparently collided with a car and broke its leg, Cornelio said.

After police shot the moose, a Public Works truck hauled away the carcass and took it to the local landfill, Cornelio said. Normally, the meat would have been donated to a local shelter, but given the animal's unusual behavior, it might have been sick, Cornelio said.

A moose that appeared to be the same one that was spotted in the mall was seen running down the middle of Turner Street in downtown Auburn about 12:30 a.m. Monday. It crossed Court Street, went behind the parking garage and took Mechanics Row to Main Street and ran toward New Auburn.

Comments

what secion of the store was

Submitted by dman101 on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 06:03.

what secion of the store was the moose in was he a rappen or a medal head

Hey Mikec, Been there done

Submitted by opinion8 on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 17:00.

Hey Mikec,

Been there done that, really? Where and when?
I find it very difficult to believe that the police shot and killed a moose because the were bored. I sooner think that they were honoring the oath of office they took to "protect and serve". This moose had already smashed through a mall window, run into a car (not being chased), and was located highly agitated in a heavily populated area while sick and injured. The paper indicated that two 12 guage slugs were utilized. Can't think of a better weapon choice. Plenty of knock down power to ethically euthanize the animal, but no pass through to endanger others. As a tax paying citizen I would prefer my tax dollars not be utilized to perform a moose autopsy. I also would prefer the police take action before the animal kills or injurs a human being. The animal clearly had a broken leg, and the erratic behavior described is consistent with brain worm. Therefore rehabilitation is not an option as brain worm is fatal in and of itself.
According to the article the animal was not eaten due to its illness so I highly doubt that a "moose feast" was a motivator. Express your opinion all you want, but perhaps you should educate yourself first.

Hey Meliso why respct the

Submitted by big daddy on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 15:20.

Hey Meliso why respct the cops.They are some of the worst lawbreakers next to politicians and the rich. Is this the same cops that couldn't handle a drunk with a hammer breaking some windows.I guess they are only tough with a gun drawn.

Big Daddy, Why generalize

Submitted by opinion8 on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 17:14.

Big Daddy,

Why generalize like that. Are all cops the worse lawbreakers, or have you simply had a bad experience with one or two? I happen to know several whos ethics are beyond reproach, and who simply took the job due to a desire to help others. They spend their holidays working to keep us safe, while we enjoy time with our families. I can think of people in all professions who are good and ethical, and I can think of some who are not, but to lump them all into one category would not be accurate. Unfortunately, those who tell us when we are doing something wrong are not always the most popular. Think of how many people work in law enforcement nation wide, reference that number when you think of how many you hear negative things about. Is it really true that they are all bad? I think not.

Mikec not sure how u can

Submitted by blackdog on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 13:44.

Mikec not sure how u can compare a human and a moose with broken legs. What do you suggest for a moose with a broken leg, an ambulance ride to cmmc and extensive physical therapy when the cast is removed. It is a wild animal and unfortunately they get hurt or sick or end up in bad places and sometimes the best thing to do is put them out of their misery or suffering. Let me know when you come up with a way to fix a broken moose leg or better yet, a cure for brainworm, u would be a rich man or woman. The moose was not eaten so get off of your killing for steaks bandwagon. Not a fan of horseracing are u?

Doñald, they do not rehab

Submitted by blackdog on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 13:21.

Doñald, they do not rehab sick or injured animals, ESP big game with broken limbs. And by sick I speak of brainworm. They deal mostly with smaller or orphaned animals. I think if you call Lewiston of you will find that essential employee game wardens were consulted with and on their way. The situation required a more immediate response by the police and could not wait. Also game wardens are not issued darts or drugs to immobilize big game animals, the biologists are, hence the mention of the shut down day.

blackdog...you're wrong.

Submitted by DonaldR on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 12:16.

blackdog...you're wrong. Maine does rehab injured animals at the Maine Wildlife Park aka Gray Animal Farm. Also, essential personnel were not on furlough. Game wardens fall under the "essential personnel" classification. Seems to me all options weren't explored...what a shame.

DonaldR, they do rehab

Submitted by opinion8 on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 17:04.

DonaldR, they do rehab animals at the Gray animal farm, but not adult moose with brainworm and broken legs.

Mikec and helga this was a

Submitted by blackdog on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 11:42.

Mikec and helga this was a 400-500 pond moose that obviously had something wrong with it. Not to mention the broken leg and cuts from smashing the glass at the mall. The state of Maine does not rehabilitate or put casts on a moose leg it needs to be put down. The biologists with access and ability to use darts and chemical immobilization were probably on afurlough day. Mikec how many injured deer and moose did you save and rehab while you were "being there and seeing that". Nothing makes u people happy, had it been left to roam the city and potentially injure someone u would complain that no one did anything to prevent it. Kudos to Lewiston police for stepping up and handling the situation maine game wardens are spread thin.

I'm with you mikec.

Submitted by helga on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 10:31.

I'm with you mikec.

It was just going to BULL

Submitted by wen on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 10:08.

It was just going to BULL MOOSE MUSIC to get some good tunes....leave the poor animal alone LOL

I think the Sun Journal

Submitted by Meliso on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 07:01.

I think the Sun Journal should at least have enough respect for law enforcement not to refer to them as "cops". The headline looks like something a 12-year old would write.

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