POLAND – Maine’s moose hunting season doesn’t open until Sept. 27, but that hasn’t stopped someone from taking aim at one of the critters.

The Warden Service is looking for a cow moose with an arrow sticking out of its right side.

Warden Rick Stone said the moose was spotted Wednesday afternoon wondering around woods near the Poland Spring Bottling plant. One of the company’s truck drivers spotted the moose.

Stone said he spent more than an hour checking in the woods trying to find the moose, without success. He’ll likely try again later in the week.

“If it’s badly hurt, it won’t go far,” he said.

Stone said the moose’s fate depends on how deep the arrow is in the animal’s body. A flesh wound of an inch or so could result in the arrow’s eventually falling out.

But “if it has penetrated its chest cavity, it’ll probably die,” he said.

Stone’s search for the moose delayed his response to an all-terrain vehicle accident in Minot, the warden said.

A boy, who was reported to dispatchers as being 11 years old, apparently flipped his four-wheeler in his driveway, according to initial reports, Stone said.

The boy was taken to a hospital and treated for a fractured sternum, the warden said. He will investigate the accident Thursday.

Meanwhile, people living in the Poland area who see the moose are encouraged to notify the Warden Service of the cow’s location. Wardens may be reached by calling the Gray barracks of the Maine State Police at 800-482-0730.

Shooting a moose out of season – with an arrow or a bullet – is considered poaching under Maine’s wildlife laws. Conviction can result in a week in jail and $1,000 fine for a first offense.