Shauna McAllister was enjoying her Monday morning when she noticed a moose calf on her Chasm property.
Surprised but not alarmed, McAllister said she spent most of the morning of Monday, Oct. 27, carefully watching and interacting with the young bull moose calf. Ultimately, with the help of a BC Conservation Officer, a Clinton RCMP officer and a Canadian flag, she helped ensure the moose on the loose made his way safely away from the highway and back into the wild.
“I feel extremely special to have this close connection. Everything we know about these moose is that they’re dangerous and aggressive. He was a baby bull moose; he had little nubs,” McAllister said. “I think he just needed a rest, respite, and then to get on his way.”
Originally from Alberta, McAllister moved to the Cariboo earlier this year after spending most of her adult life on Vancouver Island. She runs a nondescript animal rescue out of her home on Meadow Lake Road, living with guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats and horses.
It was thanks to this experience and comfort with animals that when she woke up and noticed the moose, she remained calm. McAllister remarked she went out in her housecoat and slippers to check out the calf, noting this was the first time she’d ever seen a moose up close. After he shied away, she left him alone, going inside to get dressed.
“I went out about an hour later, and there he was, just standing in the corner. I worked for Zoocheck Canada for about two years, and I’m a vet assistant. I worked for years in the industry, I know not to touch wildlife, I understand this,” McAllister said. “But I’m also a mom, and I can tell when animals are depressed and sad.”
McAllister said she approached the calf cautiously, and as she drew closer, the moose began to lick his lips. She explained that young animals sometimes do this to show they’re not a threat. The calmness the calf expressed was remarkable, McAllister noted.
“Then I stood there for a minute and was like ‘dude, where’s your mom? You’re still pretty young?” McAllister said, adding that she believes he may have belonged to a moose that was struck and killed by a van north of 100 Mile House earlier in the month.
“He was exhausted, hungry, thirsty, lost and sad.”
After petting him a little, McAllister went back into her house, and when she returned, the calf was sleeping. She remarked that after he got up, she spent several minutes just observing him, noting it was a beautiful moment. McAllister said she also brought him a bucket of water, and the moose drank it by standing in the bucket.
It was at this point that McAllister called the BC Conservation Service. The morning had begun to wear on, and motorists were beginning to pull over and take pictures of the moose. She noted his eyes were getting wild, so she decided to open up the gates of her property so he could leave.
However, the calf proved stubborn, and not even a passerby flapping McAllister’s coat could get him to move. She added she was worried he might jump her fence and bolt onto the highway and potentially get himself and someone else killed.
Thankfully, it was around then that a member of the Clinton RCMP detachment and a B.C. The Conservation Officer showed up to help. While they had some air rifles to try and spook the moose, McAllister also gave them a Canadian flag, reasoning they could use the pole to keep him back if he got aggressive and the flag itself to spook him.
“Neither of these guys had had close encounters with moose before they said afterwards. Then I’m at the house for minutes and I hear a couple of air rifle shots, and then there were no signs of life,” McAllister remarked.
Going out to check, McAllister found the two men near the moose, the CO checking his mouth, and decided to help. Marching up, she said she told the moose to “follow aunty,” and the moose did, with the CO and RCMP officer using the flag and a stick to guide him.
“I said, ‘Come on, baby, follow auntie, it’s time to go,’ and he said, ‘ok, I do that,” McAllister recalled with a smile.
Eventually, after leading him out of her property, the moose seemed to want to go through a fence back into the bush. McAllister said the RCMP officer grabbed some wire clippers and cut the fence, allowing the calf to gallop off into the forest around 2 p.m.
“It was amazing,” McAllister said. “The message isn’t to have hands-on with wildlife, feed wildlife and save them. I think the message is stop, take notice , and if you see an animal acting adversely, call Conservation to come in and help them out. The Conservation and police officers were so nice and kind, so gentle. I was completely and utterly shocked at how caring and compassionate they were with the moose.”
McAllister said she encourages anyone who sees an animal that is injured or distressed to call 1-877-952-7277. The 100 Mile Free Press has reached out to BC Conservation Service for comment and will update this story when we receive it.