Moose dies after being tranquilized at Nederland skate park

NEDERLAND, Colo. – A juvenile moose that wandered into a skate park in Nederland died Wednesday during an attempt to relocate it, wildlife officials said.

Officers were called to the town’s teen center at about 11 a.m. after staffers reported the moose was in a bowl at the park.

“From what we could tell, he was trying to cross to get down to (Barker) reservoir,” said Nederland Police Chief Jake Adler. “He apparently got startled by some folks who were fishing – and startled them pretty good, too – and ran back toward the teen center.”

The exhausted moose eventually sat down in the bottom of the bowl after trying repeatedly to climb out.

Police called rangers from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who tranquilized the moose. Officers and rangers then performed a “technical rescue” — loading the animal onto a tarp, which was attached to a winch that hauled it out of the bowl.

It died en route to the relocation site.

“By the time our folks got there and were able to tranquilize it, it was very stressed,” said Randy Hampton with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Division, noting that the agency’s lead field veterinarian performed the tranquilization.

Hampton says agent did everything they could to try to save the animal.