Half-ton moose rescued after getting trapped in basement

BRECKINRIDGE, Colo. (KCNC) - When a 1,000-pound moose got trapped in a Colorado basement recently, it was a bind for both the animal and those tasked with removing him.

The cleaning crew was the first to notice the giant wild animal lurking around in the basement and all of the destruction it caused.

“Fell on a couch, and there were holes in the walls from where his hooves had hit, where his antlers were scratching the walls, and of course, all the moose poop that comes along with it,” Sgt. Patrick Finely with the Breckenridge Police Department said.

Police got called in and then Parks and Wildlife.

They tried to get the moose to leave on its own by opening all the doors and trying to spook it, but the moose wouldn’t go up the stairs.

“A moose is going to do what a moose is going to do,” Finely said.

When all else failed, they used a tranquilizer to put the moose to sleep, then started the long, arduous process of rolling it onto a tarp and dragging it up the stairwell.

“Was kind of just step by step. And we were actually really lucky because the staircase was somewhat wider than others, and it didn’t have any 90-degree turns. It was kind of just a spiral up,” said Jacob Kay, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife district wildlife manager.

They did have to trim the antlers, but moose naturally lose their antlers around this time anyway.

Once they got the moose outside, they woke him back up.

“He probably just thought it had some crazy nightmare,” Kay said. “The other moose are probably not going to believe this story.”

The moose is fine except for a cut on its leg. The basement, however, is less fine.

“The homeowner will have to get a new ping pong table,” Finely said.

They did end up with some new decorations for when they rebuild, the antlers of their unintended visitor under their Christmas tree.

Police said it took around 10 people to lug the moose up the stairwell.