Moose found on homeowner’s property in Ogden foothills

OGDEN, Utah — A couple of homeowners in the foothills of Ogden woke up to a big furry friend in their yards Thursday morning. 

That friend was a yearling bull moose. 

Faith Heaton Jolley with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said they got a report a little after 9:30 a.m. about a moose on a homeowner’s front porch in Ogden. Neighbors alerted the DWR that the moose was on the porch around Iowa Avenue. It then migrated to a backyard near Harrison Boulevard.

Heaton Jolley said it’s likely the moose jumped a fence to get into the backyard. 

“The area is up in the foothills of Ogden, so that’s a natural habitat for a moose,” Heaton Jolley said. 

DWR biologists and conversation officers responded and safely tranquilized the moose, transported it to a trailer, and relocated it to the Monte-Cristo mountain range.

What causes a moose to migrate? 

“Utah is home to moose, they can be found in a lot of our canyon areas and foothills. Sometimes they are just migrating down, looking for food, so it’s not totally uncommon to see them in neighborhoods [or] urban areas,” Heaton Jolley said. 

Moose often are merely looking for accessible snacks, like flowers. 

This particular moose was about a year old, so Heaton Jolley said it was likely just trying to figure out its surroundings. 

What to do when you encounter a moose

Heaton Jolley said the most important thing to do when a moose migrates down to lower-elevation areas is to report to the DWR. 

“If they’re not relocated, they can stay in an area for a long time,” she said. 

That can lead to conflicts with people or damaged property. 

Heaton Jolley said it’s important to remember that moose can be highly aggressive.

Related: What do you do if you encounter a mountain lion?

“I’ve had biologists tell me that they’ve worked with snakes, bears [and] cougars… And moose are the only ones they’ve had turn around and charge them,” she said. 

One thing homeowners in particular should know, she said, is that moose get “especially aggressive” around dogs.

“If you live up in the foothills [or] canyons where moose are common, make sure you keep an eye on your dog.”

If one ever does encounter a moose, whether in a backyard, on a front porch, or during a camping trip, the DWR recommends the following precautions.

1. Watch its behavior, as they often indicate when they are about to charge.
2. Give it lots of space.
3. Don’t try to feed it.
4. Stay calm.
5. If a moose aggressively approaches, back away slowly towards the direction you came from. 
6. If it does charge, hide behind something solid.
7. If a moose knocks you down, curl into a ball and protect your head, then lay still until the moose leaves. 

KSL NewsRadio’s Jessica Lowell contributed to this story.