Moose sitting

Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
    Limestone Police Officer Danny Gahagan and Warden Ryan Fitzpatrick found themselves in a new role Saturday afternoon, that of babysitter. This moose insisted on staying in the dooryard of a residence on the Limestone Road Saturday afternoon for several hours, and it wasn’t the first visit either, as police had dealt with the same problem earlier in the week. Fitzpatrick said previously when the moose entered the area, they were eventually able to convince it to travel up the snowmobile trail, adjacent to the house, and return to the wooded area. Saturday however, the visit lasted well over two hours and instead of wandering around the yard, the creature found a good place out of the wind and laid down next to the building, in front of the garage. Gahagan and Fitzpatrick were in attendance, trying to prevent the moose from going into the road and were waiting for further assistance. Both concurred that due to the lengthy and severe winter, the moose and deer population were having a difficult time finding food.  The depth of the snow in the woods has limited the animals’ travel and they are now looking for any path or trail that will lead them more easierly out into the open so they can feed.